Neon Genesis Evangelion: InEVitAbility
by squall.leonhart.ff8
Summary: AU. Shinji's normal life is turned upside down when the Angels descend upon Tokyo3. The gates to Heaven and Hell are open. His fate is InEVitAble. Does he have the courage to face his devils or the cowardice of retreat. SxA pairing. READ AUTHOR BIO FIRST!
1. Nightmare

**(Author's Note: I do not own Evangelion, nor the characters. If I did, I'd be rich.)**

He heard the soft crashing of waves on the sandy beach. The pattern was smooth and rhythmic like a slow jazz ballad. He inhaled the scent of blood. Death; this world smelled of death. As he opened his eyes, the world's sky was tinted red. Death; this world glowed with death. The moon hung low in the sky, glowing from the light of the setting sun. A red ribbon slashed across the sky from horizon to horizon.

From the south, across the sea, an enormous head lay severed from its unseen body, as if someone had decapitated a giant. Its pale skin and hair reflected the dying light of the sun. The head had the face of a young girl; a sly, twisted smile remained on her lips while her glazed eyes stared back at him.

He turned to his left where the body of another girl lay next to him. This was a normal girl of his age. Her flaming red hair disheveled from the crashing of the waves. The color of her jumpsuit blended with the rest of the sky, the water, and her hair. Bandages grasped her right arm from shoulder to fingers as well as over her left eye. Her right eye blinked slowly as her mind tries to process what has happened. She could have been an angel, but the sight of her bandages made her a cripple.

A mixture of feelings rushes to the boy. He sits up, looks down at the girl, and is confused about how he should feel. He loves her, he always has. Ever since the first time they were together, he loved her. He hates her, he always has. Ever since the first time they were together, she always belittled and abused him. He climbs on top, straddling her, as he breaks down and cries. He does not know how to feel; he thought he lost her before they ended up here. Slowly he lowers his hands to her neck and begins to squeeze. Her right eye continues to stare up at him, peering into his deepest thoughts and reading them like pages from a book. He squints his eyes, pushing back the tears, and tightens his grip on her throat. It will all be over soon, he tells himself as he lets a few whimpers escape his mouth.

Suddenly, the girl seems to regain some of her strength. She lifts her bandaged right arm and softly caresses the boy's cheek. His eyes fly open and stare right back at her one. As her arm falls, he loosens his grip. He collapses onto her chest, sobbing uncontrollably now, letting his tears fall onto her breasts and down her red jumpsuit. Hatred, he hates himself, he hates this world, he hates this girl whom he loves more than anything. He continues to cry, sobbing and whimpering, as she continues to lie there in silence.

Her eyes fall down on to her chest where she sees this young boy who just tried to kill her again.

"How disgusting…" she whispers.

**(Author's Note: This is what truly inspired me to start this story. Even though it is essentially the final scene from _The End of Evangelion_, the words are my own. After I wrote this, I became depressed for over 24 hours and nothing could get me out of it. It is the most sick and disgusting thing I've written, but I still consider it the best 500 words.**

**Next Time: Shinji awakens from that world and starts his day. Does it follow him through his life? Saturday on _NGE: InEVA_ - A New Day, A New Mystery)**


	2. A New Day, a New Mystery

**Author's Note: I do not own Evangelion, or its characters. Anno is a god!!! **

Chapter 1 - A New Day, A New Mystery

"Get up, Shinji," squawked a penguin alarm clock. "Get up or you'll be late. Rwwaak!! Morning is here, Shinji. Get up or you'll be late."

He reached his hand out from under the covers and groped for the off switch for the annoying penguin.

"Shinji, wake up. Your breakfast is getting cold," his mother shouted from outside his door. "Asuka will be here in half of an hour, mind you."

Shinji Ikari rolled out of his bed, wiped the dried tears from his eyes, and slipped into his uwabaki. It happened again; his nightmare. For the past three days, he returned to a horrible world wrought with destroyed buildings, blood-red seas, and the sly, twisted smile of Rei Ayanami looking at him from over the horizon as he held the mangled body of his best friend, Asuka Langley Soryu.

"It's just a dream," he convinced himself.

He stumbled over to the closet and pulled out a clean school uniform. He buttoned his light blue shirt only to the second button from the top. He did not want to choke himself until school actually started. He quickly ran a comb through his messy jet-black hair. As he walked to the door, he stuffed his cell phone, keys, and wallet into his pants pockets.

"Morning sleepy-head," his mother greeted him as he sat down at the small table next to his father. "Scrambled?" she inquired from the hissing range.

"Yes, that's fine."

"And you, sweetheart?"

"Thank you, Yui," his father replied from behind a newspaper.

Yui exited from the kitchen balancing three plates of scrambled eggs, fried bacon, and steaming hash browns. She placed one in front of Shinji, one at her table setting, and ripped the newspaper from Gendo's hands and replaced it with his breakfast plate.

"Hey, dear," he pleaded, "I wasn't finished with it."

"Eat, honey," Yui commanded.

"Alright."

Shinji could not help but smile at the thought of this happy trinity having a simple breakfast. He pushes his dream to the side as he enjoyed just being with his parents.

"Your father and I will have to work a double shift at the office today Shinji," his mother began as she sprinkled pepper onto her eggs. "Don't wait up for us, and you don't have to leave us any leftovers either."

"But I don't mind cooking," Shinji replied as his knife cut through the bacon. "I'm good at it and I always seem to make too much for just myself." He stuffed the cut piece into his mouth enjoying the sweet taste.

His mother laughed. "Well, in that case, save some for your friends as well."

Shinji stuffed some of his hash browns in his mouth and chewed. As he did this, he thought of another question. "Hey, mom, dad, what is it that you two do? You never seem to talk about it much."

"Well, Shinji," his mother replied hesitantly. She set down her fork. "It's complicated… but important…."

"We are working on a way to allow humans to live more peacefully and without fear or war," his father stated candidly his coffee cup positioned just over his lips. "That's all you need to know."

"Mother?" Shinji looked to Yui hoping she could offer him a better explanation.

"Your father's right," she sighed as she looked at her son, "that's all you need to know. We really aren't allowed to tell you any more than that."

"I see." He returned and finished eating his breakfast.

There was a brief knock at the door. Shinji excused himself to answer it even though he knew exactly who it would be.

"Shinji!" A flurry of flaming red hair greeted him as a boisterous young girl jumped through the open door and landed in a hug. Shinji struggled to keep his balance.

"Asuka… hey… cut that out…" he lightly chuckled.

"Hmmph… you're such a killjoy sometimes," she teased. "Ready? Hurry up, or we'll be late."

"Yeah, let's go." Shinji grabbed his schoolbag from the hook beside the door as he changed his shoes.

Yui stood up from the table. "You have some money for lunch, Shinji?"

"Yes mom. Bye."

"Bye, Mrs. Ikari."

Asuka dragged Shinji by the arm out the door. He managed to slam it shut before he stumbled out of the apartment.

Back in the dining room, Yui smiled as she sipped some her coffee. "Asuka is so nice to come and pick him up each morning."

"Yes, quite convenient," he replied. "However, he is starting to get more curious."

"It's natural; we do keep him in the dark about it."

"Have you finished with the DNA coding for the start up sequences?"

"Yes."

"Good." Gendo retrieved his newspaper and unfolded it. "Have Lieutenant Soryu implement the same specifications for her unit. There is no need to place it on the prototype though. In addition, you should both lock out all additional modifications. No modifications should occur without your consent since you are the project leader. I would not want that Kaji to discover anything he should not know about either. As much as I like him, I don't trust him."

"I see. That will take all morning; I should have it done by the afternoon."

"Good. When you are done, write a report briefing Ritsuko about it. Then I want you, Soryu, and her to do a harmonics test. See what is causing the discrepancy in the nerve impulses and try to iron out the white noise."

"I don't think it has anything to do with the noise. I assume it just is not willing to listen to us."

"That's your speculation on the time delay? Not the nerve impulse system?"

"I trusted Dr. Naoko Akagi. She told me the system is clean before she died."

"I see. Anyways, Commander Fuyutsuki has requested that I meet with him at his office outside of town. I should be back about mid way through the harmonics test."

"Be sure to give him my regards as well. He should feel proud of his old student." Yui looked up to her husband. "Are you sure we are doing the right thing? Are these things truly for the betterment of mankind?"

"You are their designer," he folded the newspaper and slipped his hands into his white gloves. "You should know better than anyone."

"I guess we are making it a better world. I hope Shinji will get to see it."

"Don't worry, he will live in it," Gendo reassured her.

**Author's Note: Ok so I am cruel, I do leave you hanging somewhat at the end. And I just had to steal that talking alarm clock from Full Metal Panic!**

**Next Time: Asuka sees something is bothering Shinji and confronts him about it. But Shinji learns a truth about Asuka and confronts her about it. Wednesday on _NGE: InEVA_ - On The Way. **


	3. On the Way

**A.N.: I don't own Evangelion, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato, ... you get the picture right? **

Chapter 2 - On The Way

The pair walked down the main street towards the high school. They passed many side streets and were careful to avoid the yellow and black lines that striped large intersections and open areas of the road. They were marked with a large warning sign for a high-speed elevator.

He stared up at the large skyscrapers that marked the Tokyo-3 skyline. The new city was a modern marvel of engineering. He had heard that the designers made it a defensive city, capable of evacuation at a moment's notice and that it could withstand a nuclear blast in full lock down mode. Lost in thought, he walked right into the fiery red head in front of him who stopped at a crosswalk.

"Ouch, you idiot," she shot at him. "Why don't you look where you're going?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was just…" he trailed off.

They waited for the signal to turn green to allow pedestrians to cross the street in all directions. The new city still waited to receive more population, so there were not many people around.

Asuka noticed that Shinji was quieter than he normally was.

"Hey Shinji…" Asuka began, "why so quiet today? Usually you are talking about some girl at school you saw."

"Huh? Oh… it's nothing," he responded. "And what do you mean 'I'm always talking about some girl'?"

"I'm kidding, stupid," she giggled. "But, I'm not stupid you know; I happen to know that something is bothering you."

"It's just this stupid dream I had, that's all…" he sighed.

"What was it about?"

"I… don't really know… It's very strange…"

She gave him a disgusted look. "You weren't dreaming anything dirty were you?"

A vision of his hands gripping her neck shot through his mind.

"No," he shot. "I just mean it was strange and didn't make any sense."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice calling from behind them.

"Hey, Asuka… Ikari… wait up!"

Shinji jumped as he recognized the voice of Rei Ayanami. His dream jumps into his head as he sees a pale head with her face smiling at him from over the horizon.

"Guten Morgen, Rei," greeted Asuka happily, as a small red-eyed girl joined her and Shinji. "Didn't see you back there."

"That's ok," she panted slightly. "I overslept again. That and I had to make my lunch again."

Rei's hastily assembled schoolbag had some contents spilling out. At the very top were a plain sandwich, and apple, and a bottle of water. Her light blue hair was unkempt with a few loose ends sticking out. Despite her poor belongings and appearance, she maintained a gallant personality and was the friendliest person at Toyko-3 Municipal High School. However, not many of the students associated with her despite her friendliness.

"How are you, Ikari?"

Shinji returns from the memory of his dream. "Oh… I'm alright… thanks, Ayanami."

"No he's not," Asuka interjected. "He had a 'stupid dream' that is preoccupying him. If you ask me, he must have had a frightening dream with some big, scary monsters that attacked him and…"

He saw the pale face again. "That's not it at all!" he interrupted hotly.

"Come on Ikari," Rei touched his shoulder, "we were just playing."

"Yeah, I know… but still… it was very strange."

Rei sighed. "Oh well. Hey, Asuka, where did Kaji and you go last night? Didn't you say he was taking you someplace?"

Asuka's eyes widened as she thought of her biggest crush. "Oh it was lovely. He somewhat just sprung it on me yesterday, but we went to this great sushi bar. He said he had reservations that would've expired if he didn't show up."

Shinji grew slightly angry at the thought of Kaji and Asuka alone for the evening. "Don't you think that those reservations were meant for someone else and not you?"

"I don't care," she smiled dreamily. "He picked me!"

"Don't you think he's too old for you? He's almost thirty, and you're only fourteen."

"You just don't understand do you," she pouted. "Kaji is a real man. You would not know one if you had a manual. Moreover, it is not as if I want him. I just wish I could find a man just like him."

"I think Ikari is a little jealous," giggled Rei.

Shinji's hands suddenly felt slightly damp. "What…?"

"What?!"

Shinji and Asuka look at each other with slightly curious stares.

"Humph," Asuka turned her head, folded her arms, and stomped ahead of Shinji and Rei. "You'll never be able to stand up next to Kaji."

"Whoa, hey wait up," Rei skips ahead to walk next to Asuka. She glanced back at Shinji with a look that said 'sorry, I guess it's in her nature'.

The girls continue their conversation as Shinji follows a few paces behind. Rei was slightly correct. The thought of Asuka going on a date with Kaji did make him slightly jealous. Ryoji Kaji was a very handsome bachelor and Shinji did envy him. He met Kaji a number of times when Kaji came over to the apartment to deliver something to his father. It seemed he would also try to talk to his father about some project his father and mother were working on, but Gendo would always hush him up claiming that it was not the place to discuss such matters. It seemed he was just as curious as Shinji.

But the thought of Kaji and Asuka caused a feeling to run down his spine. He imagined himself taking her to a five star restaurant, him spending all his cash to make her happy, taking her home, bringing her close so that he could smell the apple-cinnamon shampoo in her hair and…

"Stop it", he told himself. "I mustn't think that, she's my friend, and I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize our relationship."

**A.N.: O Dirty Shinji. So if you haven't figured it out, these first few chapters, though they may be short (avg. 1000 words. i know, pathetic), they do give character background and set the stage for the later chapters. Right now, the draft is clocking in at a total of 11,507 words. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 are really long (6 is over 2,800 words and is unedited). I urge you to please be patient and faithful. It may seem if I'm ripping too much from the series or the movies, but the plot is entirely my own. Next post on Saturday.  
**

**Redstang: I started reading _Girlfriend of Steel 2_ after I had already written up to chapter 5. It is purely coincidental the it is similar. I did not intend for this to happen, I just find it funny that it did.**

**Next Time: Shinji has a conversation with Rei about her. What secrets is she hiding behind her sly smile and dark red eyes? Saturday on _NGE: InEVA_ - A Mysterious Benefactor. **


	4. A Mysterious Benefactor

**A.N.: I do not own Evangelion or the characters... yet. XP**

Chapter 3 - A Mysterious Benefactor

Later that day, the lunchroom bustled with activity as students from all classes purchased their meals, soda from the vending machines, and communed with each other. Despite his lack of hunger, Shinji still liked to watch as friends talked and held multiple conversations. He spotted the blue hair of Rei and trekked through the crowd to join her.

"Good afternoon, Ikari," she smiled as she spotted him

"Hi, Ayanami. Anyone else sitting here?"

"Nope, help yourself."

Shinji pulled the chair under him as he kicked his schoolbag to the center.

"Where's Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"Shweez sshiln thaw shawwya," she replied through a mouthful of sandwich. When she noticed his questioning look, she chewed quickly, swallowed hard, and repeated, "She's still in the shower."

"I should have guessed as much," Shinji laughed. Changing the subject, "Ayanami, how come you always eat alone. I never see you with any of the other students."

Making sure her mouth was clear, she started, "Well… I think most other students I think are embarrassed by me. I'm kinda… messy. I still maintain a friendly attitude with everyone, and it seems like when I am approached, or if I approach someone, they seem friendly with me. You and Asuka are the only few that actually associate with me on your own free wills."

"People shouldn't ignore you simply because they think they are better off. I mean you really are a nice person."

"Thanks, Ikari but unfortunately not many others feel like you do."

He never really asked her about where she came from. She hardly talked about herself. Perhaps if someone like him started paying attention to her more, she might open up.

"You live by yourself, right?" he inquired.

She gulped a swig of water from the bottle. "Yes, in the projects. It's not much, but it's a roof over my head and warm sheets to sleep in."

"Do you work to pay for it all?"

"No, not really," she placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her upward stretched hands looking up thoughtfully. "As far back as I can remember, I've always received a stipend every month that would pay for my rent, food, metro tickets, and even a little extra."

Shinji looked questioningly at her.

She brought her red eyes down and stared into his blues. "I don't know his or her name, but whoever it is, I do appreciate it. I've replied back to sender a number of times to my benefactor asking how I could pay them back, but they always say 'don't worry about it' and 'focus on your schoolwork, Rei'."

"That's awfully nice of him or her," he stated, "but has it always been like that?"

She gazed down at the table. "To be honest with you, Ikari, this is all I know. I don't really remember much before coming here in the junior high."

"You have no memories of your childhood, or of your parents?"

"No," she whispered. "All I can remember is a cold metallic room, and warm liquid." She laughed slightly. "Maybe that was from when I was born. I've asked my benefactor if he or she has any details about my past and if he or she can help me remember, but all I get back is a note." She reached down into her schoolbag and extracted a crumpled note from one of the pockets.

Shinji took the note and read it. A very untidy scrawl stated 'When the time comes, I'll tell you everything'.

"That's a little cryptic," he nodded, passing the note back to her.

"I know, but to me, it is hope." She stuffed the paper back into her schoolbag.

"Hey you two, sorry I'm late," said a buoyant redhead as she sat down next to Shinji.

"Hello Asuka, enjoy your shower?" inquired Shinji playfully.

"Wouldn't you like to know… pervert," she teased back.

"Hey… I was just kidding…" he responded as he received a hard poke in the ribs.

Rei finished her drink and began to clear her trash. "I'll see you two in a bit," she said on her way up from their table.

"See ya, wonder-girl," Asuka giggled.

The pair was silent for a few seconds after Rei left. Shinji wanted to know if Rei had confided in Asuka.

"Hey Asuka, how come… do you ever wonder why Ayanami never talks about herself?"

Asuka looked at Shinji with almost a look of betrayal. When she realizes what he is truly asking her, her head turns to the table and she softly replies, "I have my suspicions, but I wouldn't want to speak ill of her."

"…Yeah… I guess your right."

They both continue to look at the table.

A strange feeling overcomes Shinji as he turns to look at Asuka. She is still looking at the table. His arm begins to move on its own accord, slowly rising to the small of her back, just to touch her. He hesitates wondering how she would respond to his gesture. Deciding to go with his gut, he reaches out and…

A low musical chime reverberates throughout the school. Students all around them quickly clean up their trash and exit into the halls. The next period is about to start.

Asuka rises and grabs her schoolbag. Shinji remains at the table trying to sort out how he feels about the girl standing behind him, his arm still held up in the air.

"Come on, stupid, you will be late…"

He snaps his arm back to his side. "Right." Shinji reaches from under the table and nearly trips on the chair in his run to join her.

**A.N.: Sorry this is late, I didn't get back from work until late last night. Again, another character introduction, this time about Rei. I tried to keep a bit of mystery about her, though I don't know how cheesy it came off. Again, I stand by the quote in her crumpled note; "When the time comes, I'll tell you everything".**

**Next Time: Ring that bell, school's back in! The students of class 2-A receive fresh meat as the term draws to a close. Wednesday on _NGE: InEVA_ - A Strange Friend.  
**


	5. A Strange Friend

**A.N.: After hard negotiations with Anno, he stomped on my foot and said, "No! I don't care how much people like your fanfiction, you can't get the rights to Shinseiki Evangerion!" So now I must put this disclaimer in at the beginning. Enjoy P.**

Chapter 4 – A Strange Friend

Students filed into sophomore class 2-A and took their seats. Some conversation from the previous lunch period continued into the classroom. Two of Shinji's friends stood at the window waiting to see something. A strapping, black haired jock quietly talked with a quite nerdy looking boy. He wore his gym clothes under a black windbreaker set of pants and jacket as if to emphasize how much he loved sports. The star of the school basketball team, Toji Suzahara could be talking with anyone else in the world, but he chose to talk to the photo freak Kensuke Aida. The pair befriended Shinji when he and Asuka transferred into 2-A two months after the start of term back in the fall.

Something on the ground caught Kensuke's eye. "Hey look, here she comes…," he said with a slight lisp as he pulled his Nikon out and affixed a long telephoto lens.

Most of the boys of the class stopped their conversation and joined Toji and Kensuke at the window. Shinji joined in and pushed his way to the front to stand next Toji and Kensuke. Kensuke had his camera pointed down to the parking lot, manipulating the many dials as he clicked the shutter every other second.

Down in the parking lot, a tall, dark haired woman in a short, yellow leather jacket exited an equally flashy, red Peugeot. The model stopped as she locked the door and flung her hair out of her face with a sexy flick of her head. A series of wolf calls traveled from the second story window down to the parking lot where she walked.

"Man, look at how hot she is…" Toji exclaimed.

"I can't believe how lucky we are to have her as a teacher," another boy started.

Asuka, meanwhile, conversed with Hikari Horaki, the class representative. When Kensuke announced that the woman was exiting her car, Rei came over and joined the two to avoid the drooling, trampling boys.

"Idiots," Asuka softly stated about the boys.

"That's about the most they probably get to see of a woman too," Rei giggled. "They probably get no action."

"Stupid three stooges," Asuka declared referring to Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke.

"I just don't know why he's so fascinated with her, it's not like he has any chance at all…" Hikari said with a note of dejection.

"Who… you got your eye on someone in here?" Asuka now sounded interested in what she had to say next.

Hikari smiled slightly as she spoke "…Toji Suzahara…." Her eyes fell upon the tall black-haired boy leaning out the window.

"What?!?!" exclaimed the fiery redhead. "That horny jock?"

Hikari snapped her head back to her friends. "Well, he is kind of cute," she defended blushing brighter than Asuka's hair. "And besides… I think he could be a really nice person… with a sensitive side."

"Maybe…" whispered Rei quietly.

"Eh? You too, wonder-girl?" Asuka stated, bewildered. "Well I see I'm defeated…," she pouted.

"Rei… do you… like Suzahara too…?" asked Hikari.

"Huh? Oh no, I just agreeing with you…. He could be a nice person," Rei enlightened.

A sharp knock sounded at the door. Hikari jumped to her duties as class rep. "All rise."

The boys returned to their desks in a hurrying rush, stumbling over schoolbags remaining on the floor. The sexy Miss Misato Katsuragi entered the classroom inciting some of the boys to continue their rounds of staring at her figure. A tall mousy boy with platinum blonde hair and piercing red eyes followed her into the classroom.

"Bow," Hikari commanded.

"Good afternoon, class," she stated setting her briefcase down at the desk at the front of the classroom. She turned to the board and began writing on the board.

"Good afternoon, Miss Katsuragi," the class repeated mechanically, their bodies inclined to the floor.

"Sit," Hikari barked.

"Alright, we have a new student in our class today," she indicated the mousy boy at the front. "Please welcome Kaworu Nagisa."

"Nice to meet you," his voice sounded like it had just cracked, yet he still smiled pleasantly.

"You know," Asuka leaned back and whispered to Shinji, "He could be Rei's brother with those striking red eyes. But why is he coming in so late? Term is almost over and summer is about to start soon."

"Hmm," he replied, "you have a point."

"…Behind Ikari." Miss Katsuragi finished.

"Huh?" Shinji heard his name.

"Pay attention Ikari," she snapped. "I was just telling Nagisa that there is an empty seat behind you and he could sit there."

"Sorry, ma'am."

Kaworu meandered through the rows of desks to where Shinji sat. "Hello Mr. Ikari," he spoke to Shinji as he sat down behind him.

"Mr. Ikari?" Shinji turned to face the new boy. "Oh no, please call me Shinji."

"Oh well, in that case," the boy smiled, "you can call me Kaworu. You truly are a nice guy."

"Uh, thanks, Kaworu."

The platinum haired boy extracted a notebook from his schoolbag and placed it on the desk in front of him. He lifted his gaze to meet Shinji's eyes. "The vice-principal tells me that you are fairly new here too. I think we will get along great."

"Hey, new kid," Toji butted in, "don't think you can take our Shinji away so easily."

Kaworu turned to Toji. "Oh no, I didn't mean like that, sempai. What is your name?"

"It's Suzahara to you," Toji snapped.

Kaworu inclined his head. "I didn't mean it like that, Suzahara. I just thought it would be nice to meet someone who has something in common with me." He turned and smiled at Shinji. "Maybe tomorrow we can have lunch together, right?"

Shinji felt hot all of a sudden. "Uhh… yeah, sure."

Asuka coughed something that sounded a lot like 'fag' while Rei stifled a giggle.

Toji leaned back in his seat to whisper to Kensuke. "New kid's kinda weird, don't you think?"

"Maybe he is still in his confused stage."

Toji looked at Kensuke. "Who? Shinji, or Nagisa?"

Kensuke shrugged. "Dunno, maybe both."

"Ok, that's just creepy."

Asuka leaned to her left to whisper with Rei. "Ok, so I know those red eyes mean you two must be related, right?"

Rei looked back at Kaworu into his striking red eyes. "You are right; it is not really a common eye color. I can't really remember having a brother. I've been alone for as long as I can remember. But he might come from a nice family though. Probably with a lot of brothers and sisters. Or maybe he's always been an only child."

"Hmm… does he come off to you as… different?"

Rei leaned right, towards Asuka. "I get the feeling he is confused. Like he doesn't know it's wrong to love someone like that."

Asuka shuttered. "Ugh, that's just weird."

"What is? Nagisa's behavior?" Rei asked.

Asuka shook her head. "More like Shinji's response to his come-on's."

Rei shook with laughter.

"Ok, if you are finished with your introductions, I'd like to continue our debate on how the dinosaurs were wiped out," Miss Katsuragi barked. "Now… many scientists believe that it was the result of two small meteors that crashed into the earth during the end of the cretaceous period.

"There is evidence of one such crater in Antarctica, and further investigation concludes that another meteor crashed quite close to where we are standing now."

The class suddenly sounded interested in the meteor impact site here in Tokyo-3.

"Would we be able to see this crater here in Tokyo-3?" a female student inquired.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Miss Katsuragi answered, "But the planning committee for this city felt that construction should commence over the site. Therefore, in a sense, you are standing on top of the meteor impact right now.

"Well, now that is the popular theory," she continued, "who read their homework and would like to discuss any more other theories about how…"

Shinji, though intrigued by the discussion in the room, could not help but be overcome by the afternoon heat. Even the uncomfortable desk could not drive the sleep from his eyes. His eyelids drooped and welcomed sleep.

**A.N.: I want to apologize again for missing another release date; I've done nothing but go to school, work, and do homework so I've barely had enough time to sleep. But don't worry, this is the last of the character introductions... AND... for your reading pleasure, I will be doing a double post on Saturday that will consist of the start of the _real _plot! Hopefully it will make up for missing two dates.**

**I actually had to re-write this whole chapter cause I decided to add everyone's favorite fag in, Kaworu Nagisa (if you say I misspelled his name, watch _End of Evangelion_ again and pay attention to when the MP-Eva's drop from the bombers; the dummy plugs say 'KAWORU'). Don't worry, there will be more on him later on.**

**Next Time: Shinji has a habit of falling asleep at times. Will his dreams haunt him, or soothe him? Saturday on _NGE: InEVA_ - Nightmare, Redux. **


	6. Nightmare, Redux

**A.N.: Again, I wish I owned Evangelion. Think of all the money I'd be making from the new films... But, alas, Anno owns the franchise so I must say this. **

Chapter 5 – Nightmare, Redux

That world, he is back, but it is different…

Light, it is so bright. It engulfs him, wrapping around his body and embraces him. He is soothed; he feels safe. Mother? he asks to himself. His stomach lurches as something lifts him up. The white light acts as a shield, pushing him higher.

Suddenly, he is weightless; his body no longer feels like his own. He is taller, stronger. He looks at his hands. They look like his hands, but as he clenches them into fists, they feel hard, cold, and mechanical. The warmth of the white light turns wet. A bath of warm liquid rises up to his waist. It rises faster, soaking his clothes. He cannot see it; the light is still bright that it blocks the view of anything else. The liquid rises to his chin; he holds his breath, ready to accept death. He feels his lungs burn from the lack of oxygen. He struggles not to let any liquid in. So this is the end, he thinks.

"No, it is the beginning," says a soothing yet eerie voice not his own.

He cannot take it anymore; he needs to breathe. He opens his mouth and inhales the liquid. It rushes down his trachea and into his lungs. He feels normal. He should have drowned, but somehow, the liquid is keeping him alive. LCL, he thinks, the liquid breathing system of the Eva… but how do I know that? He is inside Eva. What is Eva? His cold, mechanical hands are the hands of Unit-01. Unit-01? The white light dissipates and he finds himself reclined in a cockpit with full field of vision provided by a series of plasma monitors.

The world he sees is one of total destruction. He stands in the remains of a devastating battle. Tanks, missile launchers, and attack helicopters lay either exploded or torn apart on the ground. Smoke clears and a new image assaults his eyes.

The red body of Unit-02 stood off in the distance, ripping through the body of two white winged creatures equal in size. More of the creatures lay injured, dead, or dying around it. An object approaches at high velocity toward the red unit. The red Eva turns around and projects a powerful force field halting the object. All at once, the object changes shape into a twisted, two-pointed spear. It slowly breaks through the force field and pierces Unit-02 straight in the left eye.

"NO!!!" He screamed. He knew that the female pilot inside had felt the same injury.

The red unit powers down, its internal batteries depleted.

The white winged creatures around it pick themselves up and slowly approach the powerless Unit-02. It was not possible, he thinks, how could they survive those injuries? He wants to move, he wants to protect the pilot, to fight off the winged monsters again, and save her. He wills himself to move, but the legs of Unit-01 will not move. He watches in horror as the winged monsters tear the biomechanical Unit-02 apart. They rip its skin off. They tear its muscles away. They pull out the stomach and intestines as purple blood flies out from the pressured arteries. Its four eyes hang out of its sockets connected only by the optical nerves. Its jaw lay broken and twisted in an awkwardly painful position. The vultures spread their wings, take off, and begin to circle its body.

He is horrified as he imagines what the girl inside must feel at this time. Unit-02 suddenly reactivates slightly. It struggles and reaches it battered right hand toward the circling vultures overhead as if trying to grab them, refusing to admit defeat; the pilot's pride refusing to submit.

"No… don't…," he pleads, blinking away tears, "…please…, not her…"

Unit-02's right hand suddenly splits down the middle lengthwise as another two-pointed spear sliced it apart. More spears fly down to the carcass and pierce what remaining body parts the Eva had. The red body twitches as each spear makes contact.

"NNOOOOO!!!!!!!"

** A.N.: Part 1 of my double post. Again, this is a scene from _End of Evangelion_. I did take an artistic license with it, but again, it is my literary interpretation.**

**Next Time: Horror grips the boy as he awakens to his reality. A higher power strikes fear into his heart as his world is shaken. Does he have the strength to save his friends? Stay tuned for _NGE: InEVA_ - Devastation. **


	7. Devastation

**A.N.: Again, I wish I owned Evangelion. Think of all the money I'd be making from the new films... But, alas, Anno owns the franchise so I must say this. **

Chapter 6 – Devastation

"Shinji?!?"

His eyes flew open and he looked into her bright sapphire eyes.

"Ahh…!" he jumped back further on the floor. He was on the ground, covered in sweat and tears.

"Are… you alright?" A note of genuine concern and slight fear were in both her eyes and voice. He looked around and saw the rest of his class surrounding him with worried looks in their eyes as well.

"I…" he started. "I… It's… feeling…" His head spun as a sick feeling grew at the base of his stomach. Shaking, he turned over and vomited on the floor. The class jumped back at the sight of this.

His mind slowed down. He heard some voices, but their words incoherent and some simply screams. He heard Miss Katsuragi telling Asuka to take him out to the hall. She said something else that he could not seem to make out. He felt two people under his arms, lifting him up from the floor. They dragged his limp body from the classroom and into the hall. It is two girls; he could hear them talking to each other, about him. He wanted to faint, even death sounded like a viable alternative to this pain and sickness. Vomit erupted from his mouth again.

"Shiste, Shinji, what's wrong with you?" asked the teary-eyed readhead.

"Come on, let's get him to the shower… his fever is rising," pleaded Rei.

They dragged him to the elevator at the end of the hall. Rei jabbed the button marked first floor and the doors slowly close.

"…I'm… sorry…" he weakly stated as a small amount of saliva mixed with stomach acid dribbled from his mouth.

"It's ok, dumpkoft…," Asuka nervously reassured him, "you're gonna… be… f…fine." More tears fell down her face.

The elevator began to fall and Shinji retched again, but this time he was able to hold back.

The doors opened on the first floor and the two girls supported him out into the first floor corridor. They turned left and walked out the double doors leading to the locker rooms. Fourth period was over and all the classes had finished their gym classes. The hot sun shined brightly on their bodies despite an overhead latticework covering between the two buildings. Shinji began to falter his steps in the hot sun.

"Come on… Ikari…," Rei stated, "we are almost there."

"It's…. it's… so…" he started.

"Don't try to speak, idiot," Asuka cried.

Rei pulled the door to the male locker room open and led them inside. The trio walked down five rows of lockers to reach the communal showers. Sunlight shined through the large windows at the top of the locker room. They sat him down and leaned him against the wall. Asuka reached up and turned on the tap, directing the cold spray to his body. She dug around in her pocket and extracted out a red Motorola RAZR.

"Here." She passed it to Rei. "Call his parents, tell them what's happened."

Rei took the phone as Asuka knelt down next to Shinji, some of the cold-water sprays onto her, soaking her school uniform.

"Shinji…" she started patting his face trying to get his attention. "Hey… wh… what's going on?"

He looked up at her and into her bright blue eyes. Her eyes glistened, but he could not tell if they were tears or from the shower spray.

"I…" he started as she placed a hand on his forehead. It was still a furnace. "I… dunno …I think… it was a nightmare."

She sniffled hard. "I'm sorry I teased you so about it this morning…"

"It's… ok… I know you were…"

"Something's wrong," Rei interrupted their conversation.

Shinji turned to his right and looked up. "…Ayanami?"

"What is it?" Asuka stood up and faced her.

"Your phone, it doesn't work."

"What? That's impossible… I charged it this morning." She took the phone from Rei and flung it open. The screen was blank. She desperately jabbed the power button hoping for some spark. There was no water on it, so it could not have simply shorted out. The phone remained dead. She pulled out her music player and tried to turn it on as well. Nothing; it remained as powerless as the phone. "This can't be right."

"Wait here," Rei rushed to the front of the locker room and disappeared behind the privacy divider.

"…Ayanami…"

Asuka's hand returned to his forehead; still hot. "Don't worry Shinji, she'll be right back."

Rei trudged back to the pair under the shower. "The power is out, none of the light switches work and neither does the vending machine."

"But that wouldn't have any effect on portable devices," Asuka complained. "They run off their own batteries."

"…Ayanami…"

"The only way that both portable devices and main power could be affected like this through an EMP," Rei continued.

"A what?" Asuka asked, confused.

"An Electro Magnetic Pulse," she continued. "That military buff, Aida, told me about them one time. They can render any device with a circuit inoperable. That's the only way that they can affect two separate devices."

"Ummm…"

"But why would there be an EMP here at the school? They should have detected an incoming nuke with the detection system and ordered a full lock down," she wondered aloud.

"…Ayanami!!"

She knelt down next to him. "What is it, Ikari?"

He grabbed her blouse and pulled her in closer to him. She looked into his eyes, saw that they had glazed over, and looked strangely inhuman. "I… ca… can see them…"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"We… must…" he struggled to stand up. "…no… they s… see me!"

"Shinji," Asuka grabbed his arm and supported him as he stood up.

Rei reached out and helped support his right arm. "He might be going into shock."

"NNOOOO!!!" he let out a blood curdling scream.

A deafening explosion ripped through the air and rocked the building to its foundation. It knocked him off his feet in the slippery tiles and he pulled Asuka and Rei down under him. Overhead, the glass shattered and fell down like razor sharp rain drops. The pipes inside the walls cracked and the pressure from the open tap dropped as it released into the walls. The tiles and plaster began to crack open. The wall slowly began to cave in and leaned towards the trio huddled on the floor.

They were unaware of the leaning wall and it struck Rei on the back of the head as she attempted to rise. She fell back down unconscious. A crack sounded as a support beam fell on her arm breaking it.

A searing pain slashed across Asuka's head. Her vision blurred as the rest of the wall collapsed. Her ears were ringing from all the turmoil. The wall pushed down, flattening her on top of Shinji. He was curled and trembling under her. She turned right and saw Rei unconscious a foot away. She opened her mouth to scream, but the rushing wind pushed dust into her mouth. Her choking and coughing, in addition with the blowing wind drowned out whatever she attempted to say.

The collapsing ceiling kicked up more dust. Asuka managed to push herself up off the debris-ridden floor only to slip. Her arm slid across a piece of broken glass slashing it. Blood spurted out from the three-inch gash on her right arm; she cried out in pain.

The tumbling ceiling silenced and the dust began to settle. Water poured out from the cracked pipes around her. She attempted to stand, but the fallen ceiling prevented her from rising to full height. She pushed up on the obstacle desperately trying to free herself.

"Shinji… help me…!" she grunted to the trembling boy under her. He curled into the fetal position and whimpered something she could not make out. "…Idiot…."

The ceiling, softened by the spraying water, ripped apart as Asuka flew out into the open air. The rest of the school lay crumbling around her. She caught her footing and rushed back to the opening she created. Struggling, she managed to lift pieces of the ceiling off her friends.

"Shinji…." She shook him. "G… get up dumpkoft," she cried, "please!"

Shinji groaned. "Wh… Asuka… what's going… what happened?" He turned over and looked into her blue eyes.

"Huh? Don't you…"

"Where, are we?"

"Shinji…?"

As he sat up, pain sliced across the back of his head. He reached back and feverishly touched the spot where he felt the pain. He brought his fingers in front of him and saw them covered in his blood.

"How did we… did I…?"

"I think you might have a concussion."

"What?"

She moved to his side and began to pull Rei's body from the crumbling building. "What was the last thing you remember?"

"I… you had just woken me from a nightmare I was having," he started as he tried to piece together what had happened. "A know I got startled, but… then a sick feeling came over me and I must have collapsed."

Asuka laid Rei down on the dust-ridden ground and began to check her vitals. "Well, some of that's right," she began. "After you jumped, you turned around and threw up on the floor. You never passed out once. We were all scared though. Since Rei and I were right next to you, Miss Katsuragi told us to take you outside. Then Rei discovered that you had a burning fever and said 'if we take him outside, his fever will only worsen. We need to get him cooled off.' I led her to the locker rooms as you vomited again. When we tried to get help, my cell phone wouldn't work. Rei said something about an EMP, but then you found a voice and screamed at her as an explosion went off and caused all this." She indicated to his surroundings.

"Ayanami… is she…?"

"She's unconscious, but her left arm is broken."

Shinji crawled over to where Rei lay. Her arm had twisted into an unnatural shape. Water soaked her blue hair and clothes and bruises covered patches of her visible skin.

"Oh god…," he said weakly. He turned around looked back at the school. The three-story building had collapsed from the massive shockwave. Broken glass laid strewn about the perimeter. Fear clenched his heart. "…No… Toji, Kensuke… Miss Katsuragi…," he trembled. "What about… them!"

Asuka crawled over and embraced him. "I don't know," she whispered in his ear as her salty tears fell down his neck.

He shoved her aside and rose to his feet. "I… I can't just stand here and do nothing. I have to do something." He began to stumble to the crumbled building.

He could hear the cries of others trapped beneath the rubble. They called out for help. A few of the lucky ones managed to pull themselves from the building. The survivors began to gather at a clear spot a few meters from the school. There they began to check each other for injuries. Asuka carried Rei to the gathering area where two upperclassmen boys took her. They tended to her broken arm, wrapped it in a makeshift soft cast, and attached a sling to her neck.

"Toji… Kensuke…!" Shinji began calling out their names hoping that they would respond to him.

"Help… Shinji… please!"

He heard a soft female voice cry from an area ten feet into the rubble and about five feet down. "Hikari?"

"Shinji… help…," she continued to cry.

"I'm coming… hang on…." He climbed delicately to the spot where he heard her and began to move the debris. "Hikari, are you ok?"

"I… I'm stuck… my leg…." Terror was rampant in her voice and she began to sob.

He dug deeper. "I'm almost there Hikari." He lifted a fallen light fixture and tossed it to his right as a failing left hand rose; its owner desperately began grasping for anything. He grabbed her hand. "I got you."

"Shinji…."

He released her hand and began to clear more rubble from around her. A folding chair fell to the side as he looked down and saw her face squinting from the sudden bright light. "Almost there… almost there…."

"Where are the emergency crews?" someone cried from behind him at the gathering.

"Shinji…."

He finally moved enough debris to see the file cabinet that prevented his class rep from moving. "Is there anything wrong Hikari? Does anything feel broken?"

"No… I just… can't move…." She began to wiggle, but the heavy cabinet locked her leg in place.

"Ok, I'm gonna lift it up on three… ready?"

"Hai." She locked her arms at her side, ready to pull her leg free.

"One… two… three!" He struggled as he pulled the heavy file cabinet up slightly. It released Hikari's foot and he dropped it back to its former position. He reached down and assisted her as she stood. "Can you walk?

"I think so…." She said. "Oh Shinji, thank you…."

He guided her through a stable path on the fallen building back to the gathering. More students and faculty managed to free themselves from the school. Others, like Shinji, were helping rescue those trapped under the collapsed structure.

"Horaki! Oh my god… you're alright!"

Shinji looked up and saw Miss Katsuragi embracing Hikari. "Miss Katsuragi… you're… I mean… how did…?"

She released Hikari, turned to Shinji and began to cry. "Oh Shinji, you are alright. We were all worried about you when you got sick." She turned and embraced him. "I told Asuka and Rei to take you outside for some fresh air while I got the class settled down. Asuka told…," he looked behind her and saw the red head come and join them, "…me that they took you to the locker rooms to cool your fever. I ran down stairs searching for you three when the shockwave hit. I was terrified for the class now."

Asuka piped up, "Miss Katsuragi, some of the rest of 2-A were able to make it out."

Shinji's hopes rose. "What of Toji, or Kensuke?"

Asuka fell silent and looked down at the ground. His heart sank.

"I'm sure they are fine…" Miss Katsuragi said, hoping to cheer him up.

Hikari began to weep at this. "…Toji…."

A very official looking black Accord pulled up the clearing in front of the gathered students and faculty. Two men in black suits and sunglasses exited. The taller one affixed an ear bud in his ear, the wire snaked down the back of his shirt. The other seemed to be fishing for something in his pocket. He extracted a carefully folded note, read the contents, and began to walk through the crowd. They seemed strangely out of place given the current conditions and received a number of awkward stares from students as they strutted towards Miss Katsuragi.

When they reached her, the short one rendered a salute.

"Huh?" Shinji wondered who this man was that was saluting his teacher. What surprised him next was that Miss Katsuragi returned the salute.

"Ma'am," the short one spoke. "It is time."

"I understand. The other is unconscious at the moment," Miss Katsuragi stated.

"Bring her anyways. Where is…," the short man glanced at his paper, "Ritsuko Akagi? Is she alive?"

"Yes, she is caring for the wounded behind me."

"Wait a minute here," Asuka interjected, "what's going on?"

"Quiet little girl," the tall one snapped.

"'Little girl!?!'" she replied hotly.

"Asuka!" Miss Katsuragi warned her.

The short man handed the paper to his partner and cocked his head towards the crowd behind Miss Katsuragi. The tall man strode off in that direction apparently looking for this Ritsuko Akagi.

"Very well," the short one continued, "take them to Central on the double. Lift 21 is on emergency power at the moment, but it is express and will be the fastest route there. I'll have a medical crew waiting at the bottom."

"Understood," Miss Katsuragi replied. "I assume you will be responsible for Ritsuko?"

"Correct." He strode back to his Honda.

"Miss Katsuragi?" Hikari finally spoke up. "What were you talking about?"

She turned and faced the bewildered class rep and spoke, "Horaki, I need you to take care of things here while I'm gone."

"But Miss…," Hikari trembled at the thought of more responsibilities.

Miss Katsuragi grasped Hikari's hands. "Be strong."

"…Yes…sensei…."

Katsuragi turned to Shinji and Asuka. "Go get Rei and meet me at my car," she barked. "And hurry!"

Shinji jumped as Asuka grabbed his arm and dragged him away towards the spot where Rei laid. They silently gathered her up, and carried her back through the crowd. Both were unable to think of anything to say even though they had many questions.

They reached Miss Katsuragi's Peugeot and laid Rei in the front seat, reclining it slightly and affixing the seat belt. Shinji walked around to the right side of the car and buckled into the seat behind Miss Katsuragi. Asuka closed the passenger and entered behind Rei.

"Let's go." Miss Katsuragi started the engine and peeled out of the parking lot and into the wide boulevard.

**A.N.: Part Two of my double post. Yes, finally I've started the plot. The ironic thing is that I actually wrote this on September 11. I did not even realize it until I started editing it. I hope you like it; it took me a while to write it. This one is over 2,800 words. Please "read and review".**

**Next Time: Tokyo-3 lies in ruins as a result from the mysterious invader. The children are disgusted with the lies they've been fed. But what of Shinji, can he handle the startling truth about his family? Or does his father have an ulterior motive? Wednesday on _NGE: InEVA_ - National Evangelion Research Vector.**


	8. National Evangelion Research Vector

**A.N.: Alright, if I can't own Evangelion, can I at least own this fanfic? **

Chapter 7 – National Evangelion Research Vector

"I know you two have a lot of questions," Miss Katsuragi sighed as she drove her Peugeot through the empty streets, dodging debris that lay strewn about as a result of the huge shockwave that ripped through Tokyo-3.

Shinji and Asuka both sat quietly in the back of Miss Katsuragi's car. Both of them remained confused at what happened back at the school. Rei remained unconscious in the front seat, her arm broken.

Finally, Miss Katsuragi started, "Alright, I'll see what I can explain.

"Both of your parents work at a top-secret research facility called the National Evangelion Research Vector or NERV for short. I am Director of Operations and ranked as Major. Shinji, your father is the commander of the organization."

Shinji's eyes looked up at the mention of his father, but he still held his head down. Asuka remained motionless.

"Right now, our main project is a series of three super weapons," Katsuragi continued. She swerved to avoid a fallen power pole causing her passengers to lean to the right. "Because of this state of emergency, protocol requires that we take you to NERV Headquarters. Do either of you have anything to say?"

"No…," Asuka replied, void of any emotion.

Miss Katsuragi turned into a cement parking structure. She began making a series of right turns as the car descended further into the structure. She reached the lowest floor of the garage and pulled into stall B4-21[X. Instead of shutting off the engine, she rolled down her window and honked her horn three times.

A section of floor slid away as a computer terminal rose to her open window. She reached across Rei and pulled a long, red, rectangular plastic case from her glove compartment. It was seamlessly sealed and a very official logo consisting of half a maple leaf stamped on either side. She grasped both ends of the plastic case and began to twist. A loud crack sounded as the plastic case broke open and released a small card from its vacuum-sealed interior. Katsuragi caught the card as it soared into the air in front of her. She reached out the window and slid the card through a reader on the terminal. A green light flashed on the screen with a message stating 'Approved'.

The terminal descended back to its slot on the floor. A loud klaxon began blaring, its sound amplified by the cement walls in the empty parking garage. The wall in front of the car began to descend revealing a large chain linked cage behind it. Katsuragi drove the Peugeot into the cage, reached out the window again, and pressed another button. Behind them, the cement wall rose back to its original position. Another chain linked gate locked behind the car.

In the low lit cage, Shinji felt himself lowering down further into the earth. Red light flooded into the cabin of the vehicle every ten seconds as the car passed under emergency flood lamps.

The tunnel disappeared revealing a large subterranean cave. Shinji looked up and saw rectangular, metallic spires pointing down like stalactites. Sunlight shined through a series of mirrored vents that also provided fresh air to the cave. Large tubes followed the spires down further to a lake at the bottom of the cave. At one end of the lake, stood a square pyramid. Behind the pyramid, a large tower rose from the ground. Clean vegetation grew around the lake and buildings.

"This is the Geo-Front," Miss Katsuragi introduced. "Above us is Tokyo-3. In a lockdown, the buildings will retract and hang from the top of this cave. The residents use the elevator tubes so they may descend to the safety of the Geo-Front. We then use the elevators to deploy our defense forces."

Despite his amazement, Shinji could not help but spit out, "That liar."

"Huh?" Miss Katsuragi heard him. "Who?"

"Oh, no one."

Outside the car, on the lift cage, a red telephone began to ring. Miss Katsuragi reached out and lifted the receiver to her ear. "Katsuragi… yes I have them. Report to Cage-7? I understand… what? He's going to be there personally? But I thought… understood. How can we launch with main power offline? Oh, good work then. What? Th…that's not… we can't launch then without the pilots. …He said that? …Thank you Hyuga." She replaced the handset on its hook.

The lake grew larger as the car descended. Katsuragi turned to her companions in the rear. "My team reports that main power will be restored within the hour. And it looks like we may have to deploy immediately upon arrival."

Asuka looked up. "What do you mean 'deploy immediately'?"

"I mean just that." The car descended to a depth of seventy meters in the lake before entering another tunnel. "The super weapons, I was under the impression that they were above ground at the test center in Matushirow, but it appears that the modifications on them finished ahead of schedule."

The lift cage stopped and the chain-linked gate descended revealing another parking garage. Red emergency lamps provided little light for driving. Miss Katsuragi drove the Peugeot into an empty stall marked 666. Outside, a white clad team raced to the passenger door of the car with a gurney. They opened the door and extracted an unconscious Rei. Katsuragi and Shinji exited from the driver's side, with Asuka crawling through behind him. "Don't worry, they will take care of her."

Katsuragi lead her companions to an elevator marked R-20. She checked a monitor on the side of the door. "Good, reserve power is still functioning." A small red light illuminated the words 'Reserve' under the power bus indicator. She forced the door open, ushered the children inside, and jabbed the button marked 'Main Cage'. The car began to move upwards, then to the side, then down, and to the side again. A rotary indicator at the top clicked at regular intervals to indicate the stops. When it read 'L-67', the car stopped. Katsuragi forced the door open again and held it open for Shinji and Asuka. They stepped into a corridor again lit by emergency lights. A sign in front of them marked the directions; to the left was the 'Main Cage' and to the right was the 'Pilot Ready Room'. Miss Katsuragi steered the children to the left. At the end of the corridor, two ultra wide double doors lay rolled open to a dark room. Orange clad workers rushed through the door and into the corridor mumbling something about a diesel generator.

The trio crossed the threshold into the darkened room. Katsuragi stopped them. "Stop here, and wait for your eyes to adjust. Otherwise you could fall off."

Shinji's eyes slowly accustomed to the low light. It was a good thing Miss Katsuragi stopped him. Had he taken one more step, he would have run right into the handrail for the catwalk they were standing on and fallen into the abyss below. "Whoa!" He took a step back stepping on Asuka's foot.

"Ouch dumpkoft," she spat at him. "That was my foot."

"Quiet you two," Katsuragi commanded. She lead them to the right a short distance before turning left and stopping after another short walk.

"Spares are here. Everyone clear out and prepare for launch," one technician yelled.

"Roger."

The men in orange jumpsuits gathered their tools and rushed out of the room. Two remained behind and pulled the heavy double doors shut, a lock bolt slid into place with a loud clack. The room darkened even more causing Shinji to jump.

"This is Melchior, backup power has been restored. Main power still offline. Repeat, backup power has been restored. Main power…," spoke a female voice from a loud speaker. Lights in the room began illuminating specific areas of the room such as the catwalk. A light in front of the group lit and revealed a monster.

"Ahhh!!" Shinji jumped at seeing the purple face looking back at him. He looked down and saw that it stood over eighty meters in height. A humanoid shaped beast covered in metal plating. He looked around and saw another one just like it off to the left. This one had red metal plates. Red, the unit from his dream.

"No, it's not possible," he whispered to himself. "An Eva…"

"That is correct!" boomed a voice from overhead.

The trio looked up and saw Gendo Ikari standing on an elevated catwalk above them, dressed in a black service dress with green piping.

"Father," Shinji shot at him. "What is the meaning of this?"

"This is the Evangelion, man's greatest weapon."

"You said that you were working towards peace! Not to create a weapon."

"We are, but to achieve peace, we must fight."

"Fight what?"

"Our enemies."

"And who are they?"

Gendo pushed his tinted glasses further up his nose. "The Angels."

Asuka found her voice. "Angels?"

"Angels? You said they were a myth, sir," Katsuragi shot up at her commander.

"They have returned," the commander stated.

"But sir, how can you expect to fight with the Eva's when both pilots are dead?"

"Three spares have just been delivered." He looked down at Shinji. "Shinji, you will pilot Unit-01, Asuka will pilot Unit-02."

"No!" Shinji shouted. "I won't!"

"Yes you will. Do not make your mothers' death in vain."

The trio below gasped. "What do mean, father?"

"Yui and Kyoko are dead. They were killed in the initial explosion at the Matushirow Test Center," he coldly stated.

Asuka broke down and began crying into Katsuragi's shoulder. "Nein, nein, nein…."

"You lie, father."

"I would not. Now get in the plug."

"NEVER!"

"Are you a coward? I always thought you were."

Shinji stopped.

"Sir!"

"Stay out of this Major," Gendo barked. He returned to Shinji. "You truly are nothing but a coward…"

"…stop…"

"…a spoiled mama's boy…"

"…stop…"

"…who never had to stand up for himself."

"STOP!"

"I never wanted a son…"

"Sir! I must object…"

"…I tolerated you because I loved your mother more than anything. Now that she's gone, I don't have to be nice to you any more…"

"Sir, He's your son…"

"…You aren't even worthy to carry her name."

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, YOU BASTARD!!"

"No, Shinji, you are the bastard." Gendo turned on his heels. "I'll just leave it at this… if you don't pilot it, many others will die. Moreover, it will be at your hands. Get in the plug." The commander marched off, his gloved hands folded behind him.

Shinji began trembling. Miss Katsuragi pulled him back into an embrace along with Asuka. "I'm so sorry, Shinji. I didn't know…"

I mustn't cry, he thought. "Miss Katsuragi… wha… how do I pilot it?"

"Oh, Shinji…"

**A.N.: Annnd, that's a wrap (for now). Geez, did I make Gendo come off evil enough? Disowning his own son? I mean, I hope I did it justice. Anyways, I am starting to sweat slightly cause my posts are catching up to my writing (I've barely started CH10). Only cause CH9 is 4500+ FUCKING WORDS!!!! I didn't realize it until I started writing. Hopefully all of you are kind enough to read and post reviews with your thoughts. **

**bigguy1234: thanks for all the posts so far. i'm touched to see that i have at least one dedicated fan **

**Next Time: After confronting his father, Shinji must now face the task of piloting the Evangelion and fight the Angel. Will his desire to prove himself to his father be enough? Saturday on _NGE: InEVA_ - Angel Attack!**


	9. Angel Attack!

**A.N.: The most I own of Evangelion is this fanfiction. All other credit must go to Anno and Gainax/Khara.**

Chapter 8 – Angel Attack

He knew it would come to this. All those dreams lead up to this. "Miss Katsuragi… wha… how do I pilot it?"

"Oh Shinji." She released Asuka and turned to embrace Shinji. After a minute, she walked Shinji up the flight of stairs on the left side of the Eva's head. She manipulated a control panel on a metal plating on the neck section of the machine.

Parts covering the back of the Eva slid away and a long, white cylinder ejected halfway. A hiss sounded as the cylinder slid apart revealing a reclined seat and two firing triggers.

"Take a seat," she indicated to the recliner.

Shinji stepped into the cylinder and reclined back. Miss Katsuragi pressed a button on the outside and metal plates extended over his legs and waist securing him to the chair. Another button caused the butterfly gripped firing triggers to slide up to his hands. "Are you secure?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Here," she handed him two blue, rounded triangular devices. "Put these on you head, in your hair, like this." She took her hands and positioned them about an inch and a half back from the top and towards the ears. She looked like a horned devil.

He copied her and clipped the devices to his hair. He adjusted them so they would not move.

"That's fine." She reached down to him and grasped his arm. "Please don't die out there."

"I don't intend to, sensei."

She pulled herself out of the cylinder and flicked a switch on the control panel. The cylinder closed and lowered back into the neck of the beast. The metal armor plates creaked as they slid back and clicked as they locked into position.

Misato Katsuragi turned and walked down to the catwalk where a trembling girl sat; her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, pulling them close to her chest.

"Get up, Asuka," Misato said. "We have to clear out of here."

"But, she's dead," the girl whispered. "She's dead… mother…."

Misato reached down and grabbed Asuka's elbow, pulling her to her feet. "We can't afford to mourn right now." She became slightly irritated at her student. "Move it," she snapped.

Asuka allowed Misato to drag her down the catwalk, making a right turn, then a quick left as they entered the corridor. She dragged her student past the elevator and into the room marked 'Pilot Ready Room'. The entrance split right for females, and left for males. Misato walked Asuka into the female section and sat her down on a bench between two sets of lockers. A simple six-foot high privacy divider one foot from the ground separated the males section from the female section before solidifying at the entrance for the baths.

"I can't let you into the Command Center in a situation like this in your condition. Just wait in here, alright?"

Asuka curled back up into her former position as Misato released her. "…Komm… süsser… tod…," she whimpered.

"Hang in there," Misato touched Asuka's shoulder and exited the ready room.

Misato turned right and walked back down the corridor to the waiting elevator. Her finger jabbed the call button and the doors slid open. The power bus indicator read 'Sub'. The doors closed as she pressed the green button marked 'Command Center/MAGI Control'. The elevator began making another series of ups, downs, lefts, and rights as it snaked its way through the complex to the Command Center, the level indicator clicking mechanically at each floor. The doors opened into a small, enclosure depressed at the bottom of the command center. She walked forward and stepped onto the lift marked 'Level 2'.

Chaos met her eyes as she stepped off the lift and joined her team. Technicians frantically moved back and forth between terminals gathering data and relaying it to superiors. She looked left and glanced at the giant fifty-foot tall holographic projection in the center of the enormous command center. The hologram currently displayed a series of floating screens of Shinji in the cockpit, his vitals, his nerve impulses, and Unit-01's damage control. Behind it stood the seventy-foot tall, widescreen main-viewer. A topographic map of Tokyo-3 lay juxtaposed behind the hologram on the screen. On the tiers below, stood the three MAGI Supercomputers. Designed by Dr. Naoko Akagi, these computers were the most powerful in the world and regulated all of NERV's operations.

"Hyuga, report."

A nerdy looking technician looked up from his console; his glasses reflected the hologram behind him as he turned to face Misato. "Major, repair crews are working to bring main power up in a few minutes. The diesel generator has been started and we are standing by to move Unit-01 to the launch catapult," Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga stated.

"Ground status?"

"American satellites confirm the target," piped up Lieutenant Shiguru Aoba, another technician on Level 2. "It is currently northwest, approximately ten kilometers from our position on an approach vector. Estimated time of arrival is ten minutes, forty-two seconds. It is still out of visual range. The UN is requesting that we launch our weapons."

"Not yet," Misato stated. She turned and looked at Ensign Maya Ibuki as she feverishly typed on her keyboard next to an equally stressed Dr. Ritsuko Akagi. "What is the pilot's status?"

Maya turned to face her superior. "His vitals are fine, but that's not the problem."

Dr. Akagi stood up and faced Misato. "We don't know if it will activate to his ego. Dr. Ikari installed the DNA coders on Units 01 and 02 before the attack."

"Then how the hell are we expected to win like this?" Misato spat.

"He is Yui's son, he has her DNA," boomed a voice from the tier above them.

Misato turned and looked up at Gendo Ikari as he sat at his terminal, hands folded in front of his mouth in a nonchalant manner. Behind him stood the ever-present Sub-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki. Misato looked at the former with disgust. Despite her current feelings, he remained her superior officer.

Dr. Akagi spoke up to the commander. "But sir, he has no training. How do you expect to sortie with an untrained pilot?"

"Irrelevant, all he must do is fight. He will understand." Gendo pushed his tinted glasses further up his nose. "Begin activation sequence."

"Roger!" spoke the techs from below.

Sighing, Ritsuko flipped a switch on Maya's terminal activating her communicator. "Shinji, can you here us?"

"Yes," replied a hesitant voice amplified by the loudspeakers throughout the command center. On the hologram, they could see the boy shifting uncomfortably in the cockpit.

"Ok," Ritsuko continued. "We are going to start the activation sequence." She stood up to address the technicians below her. "Begin filling the Entry Plug."

"Roger!"

The monitor showed Shinji begin to struggle as orange liquid began to rise to his head, soaking his body. "What is this? You're not gonna fill it u…." He cut his words short as he gulped a breath before the liquid covered his face.

"It's ok," reassured Ritsuko. "Once your lungs are filled with LCL, your blood will be oxygenated directly. It will also act as a cushion from impacts.

Air bubbles escaped from Shinji's mouth as the LCL flooded his lungs. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said in a watery voice.

Risuko laughed slightly, "Just breathe normally like you would anyways. Your lungs will recycle the LCL."

"Entry Plug flooding complete."

"Charge the LCL, set user interface for Japanese, and activate monitors," Dr. Akagi barked to her subordinates. On the pilot monitor, the orange liquid turned clear as images flashed on and off on the three hundred and sixty degree monitors in the entry plug. The images cleared and a view of the darkened cage replaced them.

"No display discrepancies. All pixels accounted for."

"Onboard power supply fully charged. Once disconnected, Unit-01 will operate for five minutes."

"Appling two-hundred amperes to the voltage regulator."

"Voltage increasing."

"Psych-graph nominal."

"Begin connecting synapses," commanded Ritsuko.

"Inserting neural synapses," confirmed Maya.

"Synapses one-oh-one to four-ninety-two connected."

"Graph readout normal."

"Counting down to Absolute-Borderline… zero-point-seven… zero-point-six… zero-point-five… zero-point-four… zero-point-three… zero-point-two… zero-point-one…."

"Borderline reached… and rising!"

The Eva damage monitor on the hologram lit full green.

Maya checked her monitor. "The Eva has fully activated. Pilot sync ratio is forty percent! That's amazing!"

"It quite is," Ritsuko said as she leaned over her protégé. She stared at Maya's monitors. "It's better than Dr. Ikari's first time. Shinji, how do you feel?"

"Strange," he replied through the communicator, "like I'm not myself."

"You will get used to it. For now, just relax until you sortie."

"Understood."

"Ma'am," piped up Maya, "does this mean that we can activate Lieutenant Soryu's Eva with her daughter?"

"I suppose that's what his plan is." Ritsuko turned to Misato. "Well, major, you're up."

"Roger," Misato nodded. "Aoba, which shaft is closest to the target's vector?"

Aoba checked his monitors and superimposed a series of lines over the topographical-map on the viewer. "Vertical Catapult Seven is the only one that is closest to the target. Catapult Eight is still collapsed from the initial attack."

"Very well," she sighed. "Sortie Unit-01 to the seventh catapult!"

"Roger!"

"Removing primary lock bolts."

"Lock bolts released."

"Removing Umbilical Bridge."

"Removing secondary restraints."

"Secondary restraints released."

"Evangelion 01 is moving to the seventh catapult."

The crew on level two watched as the purple beast rolled to a large opening marked 'Seven'

"Engage final safety clamps."

"Clamps on."

"Attaching external power supply."

"Power supply on. Full power output."

"Clearing the launch path."

"Path clear."

"Awaiting final approval."

Misato sighed heavily before shouting, "Eva launch!"

Magnets at the base of the platform charged and propelled the Eva and its pilot skyward. The safety clamps on the Eva's shoulder pylons kept the unit from swaying on the track as the Mag-Lev rocketed towards the surface. On the holo-monitor, Shinji winced at the sudden acceleration and g-forces on his body. A small red dot on the main viewer followed a juxtaposed yellow path leading to shaft seven's exit in the northwestern mountains. After a few seconds, the dot stopped and the pilot monitor showed Shinji jumping slightly as Unit-01 stopped at the surface.

"Release final safety clamps."

"Clamps off. Catapult has been discharged. Unit-01 deployed."

Hyuga flipped a few knobs on his terminal bringing up an external viewer of Unit-01 in the holo-monitor cluster floating in the control center. The unit slouched forward and swayed as the clamps released from its shoulder pylons.

"Shinji," Ritsuko said into the communicator, "try to keep your balance."

"That's kinda difficult," he responded. "I don't even know what the hell I'm doing."

"Five minutes to target arrival," Aoba stated.

Ritsuko reactivated her communicator with Shinji. "Ok Shinji, we are going to go over a few basic things about piloting an Eva. We have some time before the Angel shows up."

"Ok."

"First of all, the Eva is controlled through your mind, which is what synchronizing does. Use the Eva as if it were your own body. This will allow for fast reaction and reflexes. Be careful though. The down side of syncing is that you will feel everything the Eva feels. Despite the nearly thousands of armor plating Unit-01 has, there will be times where your armor could become compromised."

"Umm, I'll try to be careful."

"That's good, let's first start off with walking. Try to make the Eva take a few steps forward."

"Ok…," he replied hesitantly.

On the holo-monitor, the crew watched as Unit-01 lifted its left leg, moved it forward, and stumbled, falling on the ground meters away from the launch elevator.

"Ouch," came the yelp from the loudspeakers.

"It's ok; just try to pick yourself up. Think of doing it in your own mind and not so much as your body," Ritsuko stated.

An alarm beeped at Aoba's station. "Target approaching," he interrupted. "Visual range acquired."

"Activate main viewer," Misato commanded.

The topographical-map behind the hologram flashed and an image of a long gray tube floated around the mountain. It had a diameter of twenty meters and a length of seventy meters. It glided further towards Unit-01's position. A blue globe descended from the front of the tube, suspended by a beam of light.

"Holy shit," Misato gasped. "They really are here!"

"Shinji," barked Ritsuko into the communicator, "what is your status?"

"I'm upright again," his voice crackled through the speakers, "but, doctor, is that…?"

"Yes," she interjected. "That is the Angel."

On the viewer, they watched as the descended globe rotated in its column of light. A beam of light flashed from the globe and struck Unit-01 flat on the chest. The Eva stumbled back, but did not fall from the impact.

"Ughh…," grunted Shinji. "My chest…. What the hell is it doing?"

"Unknown," piped Maya. "Nerve sensors detect a minor burn on the chest plating."

"Order him to activate the Absolute Terror Field Generator," ordered a cold voice from above.

Ritsuko looked up to the tier above her and stared into Commander Ikari's tinted glasses; his hands still resting on the desk. "But sir, the Eva has barely synced with the pilot. We don't know what will happen if the generator is activated."

"Do it!" he ordered again.

"High energy discharge appearing at the Angel's position," Hyuga shouted.

"Shinji, move!" screamed Misato.

Unit-01 leapt to the side as another beam of light flashed from the angel's globe, striking a spot on the mountain, missing him by meters.

"Shinji," spoke Ritsuko, "will your mind to create a barrier to protect you."

"But how?"

"Just concentrate. Stand in one spot and don't dodge the next beam. Just focus on willing the beam to not hit you."

"What?" Panic rose in his voice.

Aoba turned to face Misato and Ritsuko. "Another high energy discharge detected."

On the holo-monitor, Shinji squirmed and shut his eyes. "No!"

The beam raced from the spinning globe towards Unit-01.

"Shinji…!" screamed Misato.

An orange force field flashed in front of Unit-01 as the beam made contact. The beam exploded on the force field leaving the Eva undamaged.

"AT-Field activated," exclaimed a relieved Maya.

"Good work, Shinji," Ritsuko spoke into her communicator. "Misato…."

"But I…," Shinji started in disbelief.

"Shinji," Misato took the communicator from Ritsuko's outstretched hand, "it's time to take an offensive stance. That Angel has the same defensive generator as you. The best way to beat it is in hand-to-hand combat."

"What?" he questioned. "But, Miss Katsuragi… I don't know how…."

"Just trust me." Misato looked at the other holo-monitors suspended in front of the main viewer. The damage indicator showed small amounts of yellow in the chest area. "Bring out your Progressive Knife. The switch is in the cockpit on the control cluster." Next to the damage indicator, the pilot's head frantically searched for the switch.

"Found it!" On the main viewer, a latch on Unit-01's right shoulder pylon fell open and a white blade extended. A purple hand reached up and gripped the knife. The blade vibrated at an ultra-high frequency and changed to an orange tint as Unit-01 removed it from the holster. Unit-01 assumed a fighting stance with its weight balanced slightly to the rear.

"Charge it, Shinji," ordered Misato.

Unit-01 rushed toward the Angel and thrust the knife towards the descended globe. Meters before contact, an orange force field activated and stopped the blade from piercing the globe.

"AT-Field confirmed. Blood Pattern, blue," spoke Aoba. "Magi are unanimous, it is an Angel."

"Shinji's AT-Field isn't activated," Maya stated nervously.

Ritsuko ripped the communicator from Misato. "Shinji, concentrate. Will your knife to pierce the field."

Over the speakers, Shinji grunted with force and the holo-monitor showed his body shaking as he willed his knife through the force field.

Maya turned to Ritsuko. "Unit-01's AT graph as converging. It's beginning to negate that of the Angel's."

On the monitor, ripples appeared where the tip of the Prog-Knife stabbed. It slowly inched through the field toward the spinning globe. A tear in field erupted and the knife shot through stabbing the globe. Blue liquid gushed out from the Angel's wound. The tube recoiled and began to swing.

"Don't let it get away!"

Unit-01 grasped the dorsal side of the tube and pushed it towards the ground, pinning the now helpless Angel. He then removed the knife from the deflating globe and stabbed the tube at the top. The tube recoiled, twisted, and turned, but Unit-01 kept it pinned to the ground. He slid the knife down the Angel's body making a long, deep incision. More blue liquid rushed from the new wounds splashing onto Unit-01 and the surrounding mountain.

A red diamond appeared midway-through the tube. Shinji raised his knife and forcefully stabbed. Clunk. Clunk. On the third stab, the blade pierced the diamond. The tube convulsed one last time before dissolving into the air.

The loudspeakers amplified Shinji's watery panting.

Aoba consulted his terminal. "Magi confirm. Angel has been defeated."

Misato took the communicator from Ritsuko. "Good work Shinji. Let's get you home."

"You mean…," the boy started.

"Yes," she finished. "You did well today."

**A.N.: Ok, so what if I reused a title from the series. If the shoe fits, wear it. For those Star Trek fans, I hope you recognize the shape of the Angel. I also decided not to use a numbering system (yet) simply because I did not want to steal too much from the series. For my self-criticism, I think I made Shinji a bit too knowledgeable of the Eva and how to fight. Post reviews, lemme know what you all think.**

**Next Time: All will be revealed; the truth behind the truth. What really happened at Maturshirow, and just who is the mysterious Rei Ayanami? And how will Gendo react to Shinji's successful fight? Wednesday on _NGE: InEVA_ - Revelations.**


	10. Revelations

**A.N.: Even if Anno owns Evangelion, do you all think I should get credit just for this fanfic? **

Chapter 9 – Revelations

He stood in front of them, staring at the other man's back. A look of disgust plastered on his face.

"So, you accept your new living arrangements?" asked the other man who still refused to face the trio in the center of the spacious room. He stood behind his desk and looked out the large panoramic window into the cavern below.

"I don't have a choice, do I, father," the boy spat.

The man turned and looked at his son through his tinted glasses. The trio stood under the Tree of Sephriroth etched into the dark office ceiling. "Very well, I will order your belonging to be shipped to the new location."

"Now just a minute sir," spoke up the purple haired woman with the boy. "Am I to understand that he is to live alone?"

"Precisely."

"Shinji?" she turned to face the boy. "You don't mind this?"

He refused to turn to face her. Rather, he continued to stare his father down. "I'm alright with it, Miss Katsuragi."

Misato twisted her head and growled. "Well I, for one, am not."

"Why not, sensei?" he retorted. "Ayanami lives by herself. If she can do it, why can't I?"

"Well… I just…," she stuttered, then sighed, "she's always known living that way. Therefore, she's used to it. You've always had a family. I think it would be hard for you to just give it up like that and adjust."

Commander Ikari looked up to his subordinate. "Major, what are you implying?"

"Sir, with your permission, I'd like to take Shinji and Asuka into my custody," she indicated to the quiet red head standing behind her.

"Miss Katsuragi," Shinji started, "I don't want to be an inconvenience to you."

"Please, Shinji," she stopped him, "if you are gonna live with me, start calling me Misato." She looked at the boy and smiled.

He was taken aback. "Miss… Misato…."

"Hmm," the commander pondered. He glanced down to Asuka. "And what do you have to say about this, young lady?"

She refused to look him in the eye, instead shrugging her shoulders and quietly stating, "Whatever…."

"Very well," he strode over to his desk, sat down, and folded his hands on the tabletop. "It is settled, the three of you will be living together. I will put the order in to deliver both of your belonging to Major Katsuragi's apartment. Asuka," he stopped and looked at the girl. "Because of your mother's death, all of her possessions now belong to you. However, due to the size of Katsuragi's apartment, we cannot allow you to move everything in. Therefore, I will inform my personnel to place a majority of items into a storage locker here in headquarters. The key will be delivered to you with your immediate possessions." He looked up at all three of them. "Do not allow this to hamper your duties as students, teacher, and officers of NERV. You are dismissed."

"Aye, sir," Misato rendered a stiff salute and guided her new charges out of the spacious office.

From the shadows of the only wall in the three windowed office, a grizzled old man approached the commander from behind. "Well, sir, do you think it's wise to allow this sort of living arrangement?"

"In no way will it hamper our plans, now that they have finally been set in motion."

"Hmm. You are a cold one, Ikari. Not even grieving for your dead wife, instead continuing to move forward."

"I cannot afford to be distracted by such meaningless frivolities. But to contradict you, I have indeed been grieving for her. She was everything to me." He removed his glasses and set them on the desk. "When the angel appeared over Matushirow, I was horrified. I thought the world would surely end. But, luckily, we were able to move the Eva's back to HQ before the initial attack. I assure you, I have grieved for her, as I'm sure you did as well."

The old man looked down at his former student. "You know, I never told you this, but she also held a special place in my heart as well. Ever since I met her in my class. I never really figured the two of you would get married and have a child."

"Nor did I."

"Did she confide with you… about the other… child?"

Ikari opened a desk drawer and extracted a small memory card. "Yui left this in my desk and told me to show it to the child in the event that she could not. I feel now that the child is ready to know the truth."

"Do you really think it wise to inform her of what she is? She's already in pretty bad shape. The doctors were lucky to get her when they did. Though external injuries were minor—a broken arm, cracked skull, and some scrapes—she had massive internal injuries."

"What choice do we have? She is a weapon, and weapons must be calibrated for use. You understand that, don't you, Professor Fuyutsuki?"

The old man cringed. "Please don't bring it up. You know how much I want to forget my past." He sighed, "But you are correct, just like in World War III."

"Yes, you and Yui both designed the weapons used in that war. If I remember correctly, she helped you write the principles behind the N2 Mine."

Fuyutsuki pleaded with the commander. "Please, sir. I never intended for it to be used like that."

"Isn't that the dilemma that all scientists face?" Ikari pulled out a metallic briefcase from a deep drawer in his desk, setting it on the desktop. "Your ideas are turned into ways to wage war." He stroked the sides of the case. "And you even know that that will be the case when you designed them."

"Miniature Fusion should have been used only as a way to supply massive amounts of power to a city or state," Fuyutsuki defended.

"Yet in the end, it was determined that a concentrated reactor could produce enough heat to meltdown an entire city and the surrounding environment. Your creation was weaponized."

Fuyutsuki had had enough. "Just where are you going with this, sir?"

Ikari opened the case and looked into its contents. Fuyutsuki could not see inside as his vision was hampered by Ikari's back. "She knew all along. Even when the project commenced, she knew."

"You mean…?"

Ikari smiled as he stared at the cases contents. "Yes, that is the key. She knew that this would likely be the end of humanity and saw fit to fight it at all costs. But she decided to instead weaponize humanity's armageddon and bind it to our will." He closed the case and scrambled the combination.

"You make it sound as though it was her idea all along."

Ikari rose to feet and walked to his wide window overlooking the Geo-Front. His office situated at the top of the tower gave a clear view of the expansive cave. "It was not initially her idea, but when I convinced her it was the only way, she saw fit to give the 'go ahead'."

"And you are certain that this is the course of action to take?"

"Absolutely. Today's events should have convinced you of my sincerity of this project."

"But, disowning your own…"

"That is none of your concern," Ikari interrupted. "I have a use for him, and that is all that matters. Besides, his desire to prove himself will be his driving force. When his life was in peril, he quickly mastered the operations of Unit-01 and had an initial sync-ratio of forty percent. Quite impressive if you ask me."

"So, you just said those things so he would pilot?"

Ikari adjusted his glasses and then folded his hands behind his back. "No, I meant what I said. He really is a coward. He is not the child I wished for. To me, he is nothing more than a spare; a replaceable part capable of piloting the Evangelion, as are the other two spares. Should one part fail, the next need only to step in and fill the void."

"So they are nothing but tools to you."

Ikari chuckled lightly. "In the end, isn't that what we all are? Tools. Human instruments of God's almighty orchestra. Now that the ensemble is prepared, we are rehearsing for the symphony. So that one day, soon enough, His masterpiece can be heard."

Fuyutsuki became terrified. This was not the man he taught twenty years ago. As a religious man, what he heard was heresy. "You've changed, sir. In those days, you would never have stooped to such levels as to think you could play God."

The commander turned to face his old teacher. "Whatever do you mean, old friend?" He strode to face the sub-commander. "Man ate from the fruit of the Tree of Wisdom. It has been our destiny to rise to new intellectual levels and question God's methods. As a man of science, you, of all people, should respect that. Why not use what has been given to us by God? We can prove to ourselves, and to God himself, that we, the human race, is smarter and more cunning then Him. If we can make the world a better place without his help, then so be it."

"Sir…," the old man growled.

"You are dismissed, sub-commander." Ikari turned his back and resumed his seat.

Fuyutsuki sighed, "Aye, sir." He walked towards the double doors that opened onto the corridor. He was halfway to the doors when Ikari stopped him.

"Oh and professor, inform me of Rei Ayanami's condition as soon as you can. When she is conscious, have her report to my office. She will want to know the truth."

"As you wish."

Her eye opened and she stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. She began to count the small holes in the panels above her. She reached fifty-two before a door opened and an older man walked in, shutting it behind him. She rolled her head to the right and watched as he pulled the chair up next to her.

"How do you feel, Miss Ayanami?" he asked with kindness in his voice.

She rose up to a sitting position. A strange numbness came over her left side. She looked at her arm and saw the white strips wrapping up from fingertip to shoulder. A sling supported it from her neck. She reached up and touched her right temple, feeling the bandages covering her right eye.

"I assume I look worse than I feel," she sighed. "Where am I? The last thing I remember was the explosion in the locker room…."

The man sighed. "It was a close call. While the only external damage to you was to your left arm and right side of your head, you had massive amounts of internal injuries. The medics said that if you had arrived any later, the chances of your survival would not be good."

Her memory jogged as she remembered trying to help Shinji up from the floor, before she blacked out. "What happened to…?"

"I am not the one you should talk with," the man cut her off. He rose from his chair and walked to the door. "I am only here to tell you to report to Commander Gendo Ikari's office on Level-13." He pulled the door open and exited into the hallway letting the hydraulic arm close it behind him.

The sounds of the EKG beeped at regular intervals in sync with her heart. She reached under her medical smock and pulled the electrodes off her chest. The EKG flat lined from the lack of information and a high-pitched whine sounded with alarm. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, testing her weight. Hesitantly, she stepped to the closet at the far end of the room. In the closet, she found a long blue robe. It fit down to her calves. She let the left sleeve dangle uselessly at the side as she tied a knot with her good hand and her teeth. A pair of uwabaki laid waiting for her, which she promptly slipped on.

Rei stepped out into the corridor and looked both ways. This infirmary remained unfamiliar. An orderly walked towards her, his eyes continuing to stare at the clipboard grasped in his hands.

"Excuse me," she stopped him, "but where can I get to an elevator?"

The orderly looked up at her. "Um, there is one down that end of the hall." His hand rose and pointed behind him from where he came from. "Um, shouldn't you be…?"

"Thank you," Rei thanked him and took off for the elevator not allowing him to finish his sentence.

Her finger jabbed the call button and the doors slid open automatically. She stepped inside and looked for the button labeled L-13. The doors closed and the lift began to move up, down, left, and right as it navigated the underground labyrinth, clicking at each stop.

After a few seconds, the indicator read L-13 and the doors slid open into a very small foyer. Large black double doors stood in front of her. She knew that this must be Commander Ikari's office. The grandeur of the doors alone seemed fit for a Supreme Commander. She strode forward and knocked three times on the door.

A small click sounded and the doors folded inward automatically.

"Rei," spoke a cold voice, amplified by the emptiness of the office within, "come in."

Rei strode forward to the desk set back two-thirds of the way into the room. The Tree of Sephiroth glinted with its gold etching on the floor. The commander indicated an empty chair at his desk with his gloved hand.

"Sir," she started as she sat down, "I would like to know what has happened to Asuka, Shinji, my other classmates, and me."

"Such concern for your friends; it is very noble of you to think of them before yourself. You really have changed."

"Wh…what do you mean?"

The commander reached into the desk and removed a memory card from the drawer. "I hold in my hands the truth… about you."

"You mean," she gasped as she thought of the note still in her bag, "…you have been taking care of everything for me since as long as I can remember?"

"No. But I know who has." He placed the card into a slot on the desk and a holographic projection flashed suspended over his desk. He twisted a dial and the image turned so that Rei could read it…

TO: Commander Ikari Gendo　 総帥碇ゲンドウ  
FROM: Doctor Ikari Yui　どくた碇ユイ  
SUBJECT: First Child Ayanami Rei and Lilith　第一の処女あやなみレイ及びィィテェ

_** This document is classified 'Top Secret'. **__**Beta Level clearance required   
Any unauthorized viewing or copying is punishable by death **_

1.) This report will summarize the project regarding Ayanami Rei as a child of Lilith.

2.) In the year 2000, excavation teams recovered a small red crystal during construction of  
the Geo-Front. At this time, computational power was limited. The Magi system was  
still incomplete. However, a few members of my team and I discovered that the crystal  
was organic based and composed of matter that did not consist of any known elements.  
We discovered that the organism was sentient and telepathic. The crystal pulsed while  
we were near it and concentrating. Simply put, if I thought hard enough aboutit glowing,  
it would flash. At first, we passed this off as coincidence. We soon discovered that by  
subjecting the crystal to ultra-sonic sound waves, the crystal's structure began to change.

3.) We subjected the five-hundred cubic centimeter crystal to ultra-sonic waves for six days  
in top-secret. On the sixth day, the crystal had morphed into a hardened, semi-  
transparent egg. Inside the egg, a body of a human laid curled up inside. What we did  
next, however regrettable, was justified.

4.) I made the executive decision, with advice from my colleagues, to hatch the egg  
prematurely, before the human inside could be born. It took twenty high temperature  
lasers to penetrate the shell. We were careful not to harm the human inside. After all, we  
wanted to study it. However, we were fearful of it, so we wanted to study it dead, or  
under our control. Once we had extracted the body, we were shocked to find it to be  
alive. It was not moving, but we could detect a pulse, brain waves, and a respiratory  
pattern. The body was less human than we initially thought. It had no sexual organs, or  
even a distinctive face; it had more of a facemask that was similar to a human. As if it  
could not decide how it wanted to look. A tissue sample again confirmed it to be  
composed of matter not known to us. However, a DNA sequence showed that there  
was a 98.7 percent match to humans. The DNA sequence compared to humans and  
chimpanzees is only 96.5 percent.

5.) A slice on the subject's finger bled a liquid similar to blood. Its consistency was similar  
to water and if kept warm, would not dry. This liquid was highly oxygenated. We called  
it Link Connect Liquid or LCL for short. Despite the cut, the subject showed quick  
regenerative capabilities; healing almost instantly from the incision we made. We  
continued to make deeper cuts, and observed that the subject continued to regenerate.  
Finally, we stabbed the scalpel into the body, and were amazed to see that the subject had  
integrated the scalpel into the body. As we removed it, the subject quickly recovered.

6.) Because of the genetic similarity between the subject and humans, we proposed that a  
hybrid being could be created in a test tube composed of half of the genetic material from  
humans, and half from our subject. I volunteered my ovums to our research team and we  
were able to implant it into an artificial womb. We were able to use the creatures DNA  
to fill in the gaps in code from my ova. The take was a success. We watched as the  
embryo slowly evolved and divided as a normal child would.

7.) It was at this point that the NERV 5th Branch in Antarctica recovered what we have  
determined now to be the Lance of Longinus, or the Spear of Destiny. They shipped it  
here to NERV HQ in Tokyo-3 for analysis and storage in the Geo-Front. It is to be stored  
in Terminal Dogma. Currently, I do not have clearance to enter Terminal Dogma; only  
Alpha level has proper authorization. Once the Lance was secured at Terminal Dogma,  
the subject was dubbed Lilith and it was to enter Terminal Dogma. That was the last I  
heard of Lilith.

8.) The child, however, continued to grow at an astounding rate. After nine months, we  
removed her from the tube and into an ICU. Here we were able to study the child more  
effectively. The aging progressed smoothly at a rate identical to that of humans. We  
were able to determine that her anatomy was identical to humans. However, as she  
matured, her psychological profile truly differed. At the age of four, she had gleaned too  
much information that would have been impossible for her to know; secrets about my  
past. Her behavior became cynical and she lost respect for my research team and me.  
Despite this, we trudged forward and continued her training.

9.) The Evangelion is man's greatest weapon to fight what could be our annihilation. The  
child, now called Ayanami Rei, was our attempt to manufacture a pilot. The Eva's are  
created from the absolute DNA of codename 'Adam', which I have heard is similar to  
Lilith. I can only assume that this Adam was removed from Antarctica. Nevertheless,  
we still attempted to fuse a child of Lilith with an offspring of Adam. The results were  
adequate on our prototype Unit-00. However, her performance began to drop. Dr.  
Naoko Akagi suggested that it was caused by her deteriorating mental condition and  
possible interpretation overload.

10.) In 2012, Dr. Naoko Akagi killed herself. Her daughter, Ritsuko, was convinced it was  
murder, but the last person to have contact with her was Rei. Ritsuko spoke with Rei  
alone for over an hour. At the end of the session, she pressured me to wipe Rei's  
memory. Of course, I fought, but Ritsuko twisted my arm by saying that starting fresh  
would be good use of the child and she could live a semi-normal life, instead of the lab  
rat she was there and then. I have set her up in an apartment in the projects and send her  
stipends. From what I have observed, her re-development has progressed better than I  
could have hoped for. She will be entering High School with Shinji and Asuka next fall.

Dr. Ikari Yui  
どくた碇ユイ

Rei finished reading the document projected above Commander Ikari's desk. "I don't… what does this mean… I don't understand?"

"It means, that you are a created being," the commander smirked. "You are the attempted creation of a pilot. Born from Lilith, you must synchronize with a being born from Adam."

Rei searched her mind, hoping that she could draw out some residual traces of her past life. "So all my memories from that time are gone?"

"Correct."

"But… but why?" she stammered. "What did I know that she wanted erased so badly?"

"I do not know," Ikari spoke without blinking. "I can only assume that Dr. Ritsuko Akagi had another reason in addition to wanting you to start over fresh. Has she ever treated you differently than the other students?"

"No, she has treated me just like all the rest of them." Rei looked down at the desk. The hologram still suspended in the air above the desk.

"Very well," Ikari removed the memory card from the slot in the desk. The hologram flickered and disappeared. He reached into another drawer, removed a different memory card, and inserted it into the reader. Another hologram flashed into the air above the desk. Ikari rotated it so Rei could read. "You said you wanted to find out what happened this afternoon while you were unconscious. Here it is…"

TO: Commander Ikari Gendo　 総帥碇ゲンドウ  
FROM: Doctor Akagi Ritsuko　どくた赤木リツコ  
SUBJECT: Angel Attack on Neo Tokyo-3　天使ト３東京ネオ

**_ This document is classified 'Top Secret'. __Beta Level clearance required _**  
_** Any unauthorized viewing or copying is punishable by death **_

1.) This report will summarize the events that happened this afternoon, June 12, 2015.  
I have pieced together events from brief reports submitted to me by Dr. Ikari Yui and  
Lieutenant Soryu Kyoko.

2.) At 0600 hours this morning, Eva Units-01 and 02 were transported to the Matushirow test  
center via the underground Mag-Lev. There, the two units awaited the arrival of test  
pilots Dr. Ikari Yui and Lieutenant Soryu Kyoko. At 0800, pilots Ikari and Soryu arrived at  
Matushirow and began work on the DNA startup sequences. This would lock out  
responses from anyone else besides the intended pilots. Dr. Ikari also locked out all  
modifications on the units preventing us from changing the structure and interface. The  
process was completed at 1130 hours and the two units were sent back to NERV HQ via  
the Mag-Lev.

3.) At 1200, while pilots Ikari and Soryu were writing their reports, NERV HQ detected a  
high-energy impulse reading directly over the Matushirow test center. A complete  
blackout followed a split second later. I can only assume that this was where the Angel  
appeared. Later, we discovered from an American satellite, that Matushirow was  
completely obliterated. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that it severely  
damaged all buildings and structures in an eighty-mile radius. Most of the buildings in  
northwestern district of Tokyo-3 suffered major damage. Notably Tokyo-3 Municipal  
High School where I work as a teacher in addition to my duties here at NERV. I was  
actually there when the shockwave hit. Unfortunately, I was removed from the site when  
NERV Intelligence showed up looking for Major Katsuragi and me. From what the  
emergency crews reported, there were a number of casualties. Most were simply broken  
bones and dust inhalation.

4.) Once we recovered the three spare pilots, we began to deploy our forces to combat the  
Angel. This was very difficult because NERV was running on only Emergency Power.  
Most of the operations had to be done manually. The American government relayed us  
the Angel's position from their satellite. Miraculously, we were able to have Dr. Ikari's  
son, Ikari Shinji, activate Unit-01. Good thing he inherited his mother's genes.

5.) The battle also acted as a training session for Shinji. At first, he seemed very hesitant  
about piloting the Eva. He even fumbled on some of the basic exercises such as walking.  
Even so, he had a first time Sync-Ratio of over 40, the best I have ever seen. I believe  
that this is the reason he was able to fight the Angel so skillfully. Despite his early  
mistakes, once the fighting started, Shinji's subconscious kicked in and gave him the  
strength to fight. It is similar to when an animal will do whatever it can to fight when it  
is in danger. He was able to defeat the attacking Angel and only suffered minor damage  
to Unit-01. The burn to his chest area will heal over time.

6.) When asked to continue to work for NERV, Shinji agreed grudgingly. His only request  
was that he receives instructions from either Major Katsuragi or me. We agreed, but  
stated that in some cases, your position as Commander will supersede ours and that he  
would have take orders from you. I saw that he was unhappy about this, but it left him no  
choice.

Dr. Akagi Ritsuko  
どくた赤木リツコ

"No, n…no," she stammered. "It can't be…."

"It is."

Tears formed in her eyes. "But these are my friends. Why are you doing this to them? Isn't Ikari-kun your son? What has he done to warrant your behavior?"

"That may be so, but it is irrelevant."

Rei leapt from her seat and slammed her hands hard on the desk in rage. "You ARE evil! You're nothing but a cold hearted mechanical dictator!"

The commander did not flinch at her outburst. "And does this make you better than me?" he asked calmly. "You are only a tool. What right do you have to judge me based on what you are?"

She froze as the truth struck her like a train.

"You are a doll, a hybrid being created by man," Ikari continued. "You are soulless."

"NO," she screamed as she reached up and clutched her head. "I am me. The person that resides in this body is I. I am not a doll!"

"You did not have a childhood, a mother, or a father. Those are necessary to be a full human. And you have had none."

"I… I am unique…," she whimpered. "I may be different, but… but I'm still human. Everyone else treats me as such; therefore I am!"

"Such simple-minded, wishful thinking. I would have expected someone with your DNA to have a much more powerful thought processes," Ikari sighed. "If you still had your memories, maybe you would realize that you are capable of so much more. It would be a pity to see such potential go to waste."

"Po… potential?" she asked looking at the commander with a nervous gaze.

"I think you should return to your old duties here at NERV. Return to piloting Unit-00."

Rei seemed to calm down once the commander said this. "But, I don't know how to pilot," she said. "I'd be no good. And besides," she turned her head to the side and refused to look at Ikari as she added, "Why should I help you?"

"You read Dr. Akagi's report and saw that Shinji successfully battled an Angel with no training at all." He stood up and indicated to Rei that she follow suit. "Your training is buried underneath all the mental implants that Yui placed inside your mind. All we have to do is unlock them." Ikari motioned for her to come around to his side of the desk. The commander turned and sat down on the desktop. "With your abilities, you could be our best pilot."

Rei had no idea what he was talking about, or what was going on, but she knew that this would help confirm her humanity. "I think so," she spoke hesitantly. She now stood behind the commander's desk as he sat on the top.

"Good," he smiled. "Now, I want you to do something…"

**A.N.: Good Fucking God!! That was long. Clocked in at over 4,800 words! Well, for those of you who are clueless about Eva (I know there are some out there that are), I hope this has enlightened you about previous events that occurred before this fanfic. Remember fans, this is a fanfic, and because so, I am able to re-write the canon. If durring the letter sequences, you see odd symbols, those are portions that I wrote in Katakana and Kanji. Don't ask why I decided to do it, I merely felt like it. If you cannot see the Katakana, then you may need to install Asian Text support for your computer; trust me, they render normally on my screen.Well, I knew it was an InEVitAbility (pun intended XP), but my post have finally caught up with my wrting (and you can blame this chapter). So I don't know if I can have 10 up by Saturday. I work harder under pressure, so keep the reviews a-flowing and let me know how badly you want it and I just may work harder !**

**Next Time: Now that he has left the nest, how will the boy settle in with his new roommates? And what of Asuka, how is she taking the death of her mother? The two find solace in one-another on the next episode of _NGE: InEVA_ - Housewarming.**


	11. Housewarming

**A.N.: Aren't we glad Anno lets us play in his backyard?**

Chapter 10 – Housewarming

"Well I'm glad we got you two unpacked before I have to leave," Misato started with a gleeful smile. "Now we can enjoy dinner."

Empty boxes laid strewn about the common area in Misato's large apartment. She helped Shinji and Asuka unpack their main belongings into their new home. Most of the item's that belonged to Asuka's mother sat in a rented storage space until she decided what to do with them. Both Asuka's and Shinji's attitudes offset Misato's while they sat at the table.

"Miss Misato," Shinji stated, "this is just reheated ramen noodles."

"Are you saying you don't like it?" she asked.

"Well it's a little disappointing, don't you think?" Asuka snorted. "I mean come on, we only had like the worst day of our lives here and all have to give us ramen noodles?"

Misato sighed as she scooped some of her noodles into her mouth and swallowed. "I know it's not much, and I know that you two have been put through a lot today. For that, I'm sorry." She took a long swig from her Yebissu beer can. "I'm not much of a cook anyways."

Shinji had an idea. "Misato, I'm a fairly good cook, if you want, I can make dinner from now on."

"Uhh…," she looked at him confused.

"Yeah," Asuka piped up. "Shinji is a great cook; you should try some of his fried rice some time."

Misato gave Shinji a worried look.

"Don't worry about it Misato," Shinji reassured her. "I don't mind doing it."

She smiled at him and said, "Ok then, I look forward to trying some of your food. Excuse me please." She stood up and retired to her room leaving Shinji and Asuka at the table.

Asuka sat at the table idly playing with her ramen noodles. "Shiste, this sucks," she spat.

Shinji set the glass down that he had drank from and swallowed. "You're mother, she raised you since you were a baby, right?"

The redhead twirled her fork in the Styrofoam container. "Yeah," she sighed as she began. "I barely knew my father. I was only five when my mother took me from Berlin to live here in Tokyo-3." She closed her eyes and smiled slightly as she struggled to remember her father. "For a long time, my mother, she never told me why she left him. I always assumed that it was because of her work for the NERV Third Branch. I later found out it was because of an affair she had with an American scientist, named Langley. I don't even think my father knows my middle name."

Shinji looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "You mean, your mother…?"

"Yeah," she finished. "She gave me the name Langley because she loved him more than my father." Asuka sighed and looked out the window into the evening sky. "I guess she just wanted to protect her little girl."

A wall of emotions broke down and the girl began to sob tremendously. She pushed the cup of noodles towards the center as she buries her head in her arms. Her sudden breakdown startled Shinji. Never in his life had he seen her so vulnerable. She was always the headstrong one vying for perfection in every aspect of her life. Now, it seemed she wanted it all to go away. All he could do was stare at her as she continued to cry.

"Asuka…," he started.

She did not look at him, rather she kept her head buried in her arms. "You… you're weak… pathetic." She began to inadvertently think aloud. Mother, you left your daughter here. Why, mother? Why…"why… why won't you… hold me…" mother, why won't you hold your daughter?

"Asuka…," he gasped.

She continued to sob onto the table. He reached out and placed his left hand on her head, slowly stroking it. Everyone is gone, she thought. Everyone, but him…

Shinji's actions did little to quell the sobs, however, she was not soothed by his actions. "I'm sorry, Asuka," he told her.

"For wh… what, idiote?"

"I'm sorry you have to go through this. I'm here for you, just like I've always been." He sighed as he continued to stroke her hair. "I know what you are going through."

"Know?" she questioned. "Know… what? You don't know what I'm having to deal with." She rose from her seat and Shinji followed suit. She advanced on him, her sorrowful eyes beginning to burn with resent. "Just how do you think you can relate to me!?"

"Asuka… I," he tripped and fell back onto Misato's sofa.

She walked up and placed her foot right in-between his legs. "How can you even think to live when you know there is no one left to love you? Until you understand that, you will never understand me." She stormed off to her room and slammed the divider shut. "Verpiss dich!"

"Asuka, wait!" he cried. "Why do you have to be a bitch even now," he added to himself.

Misato came out of her room fully dressed in her NERV service uniform. Despite not hearing the entire exchange, she could tell that, from the shouting and behavior of her two new charges, things were not going well for Shinji and Asuka.

"Shinji," she started softly as she walked to the door. "I know you both have had rough days." She paused facing the door, ready to exit. "I know that all hell has broken loose, especially for you," she sighed. "But try to see it from Asuka's point of view too." A small smile crept across Misato's visage. "I'm sure she will calm down given a few days. It would be best if you both could work this out. After all, you are going to be living here."

Shinji leaned back onto the couch and sighed, "I know, Misato. But I've never truly seen here… broken." He closed his eyes and let the memories surface. "I've seen her proud, seen her happy, seen her apprehensive, and… always angry. But this is different; it's like it's all rolled into one. I've never seen her seen her sad, angry, afraid, and hateful all at once." He leaned forward and looked at the floor. The beige carpeting softened by the glowing floor lamp to his right. "She's almost like a completely different person, and it scares me."

"I know, Shinji," she replied softly. "I was almost the same way when my father died. Just give her some time. She'll come around." She turned her head and looked at the pensive boy. "You care about her, don't you." She watched him nod ever so slightly. "That's good," she added. She turned back to the door and resumed her militaryesque posture and tone. "Anyway, I need to head out to my shift. Today was an emergency, so now I must begin my normal shift. I should be back by early morning. Take care of yourselves until then and enjoy your Friday night." She pushed the open button on the door and it slid open with a hiss. After she exited the threshold, it closed with another hiss and clicked the lock.

Silence filled the living room. He hated it. It made him feel alone. It made him feel afraid. Misato had left, Asuka was ignoring him, his mother was dead, and he dared not approach his father. Silence. He was alone.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old DAT Walkman. He shoved the buds into his ears, plugging them. Instantly, soft classical music pumped through the earpieces and drowned out the overpowering silence.

**A.N.: Start Kanon **

He was in the middle of an orchestra, sitting in the strings; cellos to his left, violas to his right. Pachabel moved his wand back and forth slowly as the musicians played Kanon to his lead. Shinji closed his eyes and swayed with the instrumentalists as they made their staccato and legato notes. He opened them and saw the cello leaning on his chair. Without thinking, he positioned the body-sized instrument in front of him and grabbed the bow. Soft low notes reverberated from the deep instrument as he played his part; his left fingers gripping the strings while he rocked the bow over the arch.

Something bigger, he thought. I'm part of something bigger.

The cello was an extension of his body. The music was his body. Each instrument part of his body; each instrumentalist in control. The conductor at the top controlled all the instrumentalists; making sure the song was played correctly. Kanon became Shinji.

He looked out passed the conductor and into the seats of the hall. It was empty. A sorrowful, mournful tune played for nobody. He closed his eyes and pushed more of his soul into the music.

Please, he thought. Please someone, hear me. Hear this song.

He opened his eyes and looked back out into the orchestra hall. An audience; a single person sat in the mid row in the bottom section. He could not tell if it was a woman or a man because he could hardly see. The lights from the rafters shined brightly on the orchestra obscuring his vision. Knowing now that he had an audience, he played more of his soul.

**A.N.: Start Discussion **

Who are you? he thought.

Who do you want me to be?

What?

I am your creation.

But how can that be? I don't have that power.

In your mind you do. I can be anyone.

Who are you?

I am the one who will listen.

Are you listening?

Yes. I am listening to your soul.

What?

Yes. Your soul is beautiful.

But, this is just a song written by someone else. I'm just playing it.

Are you playing it for me?

I guess.

Why not can the song be you?

Because it's not original.

Does it have to be?

Yes.

Do I have to be original?

What?

I can be whomever you like. Alternatively, you can make me an original.

Like the song?

The song is you; ergo, I would be you. Is that it? Do you take comfort in yourself?

I don't know.

It is a simple question; you either take comfort in yourself or someone like you.

Someone like me?

Do you love someone?

…Yes.

Then can I be the one you love?

No, you can't be her.

Why not? I can be anyone.

It wouldn't be the same.

How so. You are pouring your soul out to me? Do you love me?

What?

You are pouring your soul out to me. Therefore, you must love me. If you love someone else, why can't she be me? That way, you could play your soul to her.

But I wouldn't be, I would just think that I was.

Is that better than ignoring her and not playing your soul?

What?

It seems as though you desire to love her. You desire to play your soul to her. Are you afraid.

…

Are you afraid?

…

Are you afraid?

…

Are you afraid?

…

Are you afraid… Shinji?

YES!

What are you afraid of?

You.

Why?

Because you are reading me.

I am hearing your soul.

But why? Why am I playing for you?

Because you desire to love me.

No.

Then you desire to love the one who you wish to play for.

…

You desire to love her.

Yes.

Then play for her.

But she won't listen.

Have you tried?

I'm afraid.

Then practice.

How?

With me.

What?

I can be her, if you desire, and you can play for me as you would for her.

For her?

Yes. I wish to become her, for you. I wish for you to practice on me as you would wish to play for her. Let me become her.

Yes….

Let me become her so you can know what it's like to play your soul.

But what if I find that I'm afraid of playing for you?

Then you are afraid of playing for her.

But I'm more afraid of her rejection.

Then you will have to take that risk. Playing it safe is not an option. You must be brave Shinji. You must be brave. You must be brave to play for her.

But what if I fail?

Then you don't truly love her.

What?

You cannot fail if you truly love her because you will try to rectify your mistake and make it better. Therefore, if you truly love her, you will never fail. You will keep fighting.

What if she rejects me?

Do you really think she will?

Yes.

Even after you play your soul for her?

…

Even if she first rejects you, you really think it will last? If only she could see how beautiful your soul was, she would be foolish enough to think that?

Who are you?

The one your heart desires.

**A.N.: End Kanon, End Dicussion**

He finished the song and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back in Misato's living room on the couch a soft piano and guitar duet signaled the start of the next song. The soft music soothed him and he slouched down from the couch to the floor. The music lulled him to the first calm sleep he had had in days.

* * *

She slammed the divider shut and trudged over to her freshly made bed. 

"Idiot!" she blasted. "How does he even think to understand me."

The sheets on the bed were cleanly folded with no visible wrinkles. It was too clean for her. She reach down and ripped the bedspread back, tossing the pillows from their place at the headboard. She leaned over and struck the pillows with her fist.

Punch. "Leck." Punch. "Mich." Punch. "Am." Punch. "Arsch." Punch. "Shinji."

After the final punch, she collapsed on the messy bed, burying her face into the freshly made indentation in the pillow. Tears flowed freely from her eyes soaking the pillow. She gasped in air from each sob, muffled by the pillow. "Mama…."

**A.N.: Start Jesus bleibet meine Freude **

A lifting sensation flowed through her body as she shut her eyes. A falling sensation flowed through her body as she opened her eyes. The cut woodchips rushed to her face. She did not flinch; instead the falling sensation turned to a lifting one as the sky rushed to her view. She gripped the chains in her hands as she fell back on the swing. At the apex of her back flow, she felt two soft hands gently push her to swing faster.

**A.N.: Start Discussion **

Mama, why did you leave me?

…

Why, mama? Why?

…

You left me here… with him…

…

MAMA?!?!

Asuka…

Mama?

I'm sorry Asuka.

Why mama?

It was inevitable. I was destined to leave you one day. Now you are free to start your own life.

No, mama, I want to be with you.

…

Don't you want to be with your little girl?

I do, Asuka, more than anything. I love you.

But if you love me, why didn't you stay.

I didn't have a choice.

It was Ikari, wasn't it.

No.

IT WAS! And you know it.

…

He was the one who killed you; the one who forced you to leave.

No. It was my choice to move forward. I knew the risks. I did this for you.

Liar.

I did this for you. I would have died anyways, and someday, you would have been alone.

I don't want you to leave, I love you.

I know

Now I don't love anyone.

Do you?

…

Do you?

…

Do you?

…

Do you love, no one?

...No.

That's good. You have someone to replace me.

No mama, no one can replace you.

What of the one you love?

…

What of the one you love?

I… hate him.

But you love him.

I HATE HIM!

Why?

Because… because he's… just like me.

Is that so bad? To have someone who is similar and who can relate to you?

But I think he hates me to.

Are you certain?

I don't know.

Why don't you find out?

If he hates me, then I will just hate him even more. I don't think I could live with myself if that happened.

It doesn't help if you don't try. You will simply stand still if you do nothing. You will never move ahead.

…

Just like me. I wished to move ahead. That's what life is about. If you stand still, then you will never have the experiences.

He tried to relate to me… about you, mama.

And?

I… I told… I said I hated him!

…

I didn't know what to do.

…

That's why I can't approach him now.

Well… what if he came to you?

Ha, like that would ever happen.

Would it?

He's afraid. He's afraid of everything now because his mama died.

Does that give you the right to ignore him?

…

Is he not…

…

The one your heart desires?

**A.N.: End Jesus bleibet meine Freude, End Discussion **

She closed her eyes and let the darkness drown out vision of the swing in the playground. She opened them and stared into the soaking pillow. A hand reached up and dried the caked salt water from her cheeks as she sniffled hard. She turned and faced the sliding closet door.

A full length mirror made the room seem larger. A red eyed, red haired, girl stared back at Asuka. Both girls rose from their beds and approached one another. They both reached out and touched the other's hand. Asuka looked upon the stranger in her room with a sense of pity.

"So," she whispered, "this is who I truly am. Not a front anymore I see."

The girls stepped closer to one another and embraced.

"I never knew…."

Their arms dragged across the mirrored surface as their embrace melted from each other to themselves.

"I guess I should apologize…."

"…Yes, I should."

She wiped her face clean with her sleeve and turned to face the divider. Her hand slid it open and her feet carried her into the hallway. She turned the corner to the living room and saw him slouched on the floor against the couch. His headphones jammed in his ears and his rhythmic breathing indicated he was in a cycle of deep slumber.

She smiled as she walked towards the couch. Her hands reached behind her and straiten her skirt as she sat down on his right. The sounds of an orchestra flowed from his headphones while the DAT player remained gripped in his hands.

"You always were soothed by works of the greats," she spoke aloud. "Pachabel, Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms; just to name a few."

He breathed in. She breathed in.

"I," she started, "came out here to tell you… I'm sorry."

Silence.

"I'm sorry I blew up at you like that. …I didn't mean it. I was… just so confused."

Silence.

"But now," she continued, "I think I know why I did it."

Silence.

"I think I did it because… I care about you, more than I thought I did."

Silence.

"I think I truly wanted you, but she… mama… she's gone now… from both our worlds."

Silence.

She sighs and looks at the sleeping child.

"Why am I even talking to you? It's not as if you can hear me."

He shifted in his sleep and his head fell onto Asuka's shoulder. Her body tensed has he brought his weight down her. This was unexpected for her; she did not know how to react. She could hear the soft music coming from his headphones; a piano, violas, and a cello. His chest rose and sank with each breath he took.

She grew accustomed to him as he leaned on her. "You big dummy," she smiled. "Who ever knew you were so peaceful when you slept."

Her hand rose and began stroking his hair, just as he had done to her just minutes ago. Somehow, it felt better now that she stroked his hair then when he did it to her. A quick glance at the clock under the television told her it was almost midnight.

"I guess you need your sleep, especially after what happened today."

She reached up and pulled down a pillow from the sofa. Slowly, she maneuvered herself away from Shinji and laid him horizontally on the floor with his head on the pillow.

"I suppose I'll keep you company then."

She walked over to the closet across from the sofa and removed a futon and two blankets. With the first blanket, she wrapped the pensive boy to keep him warm. The futon unfurled itself on the floor next to the boy and she draped the second blanket over it for herself. She crawled under the blanket and rested on her left side.

"Gute nacht, flachwichser," she whispered to him and closed her eyes, letting sleep overcome her.

**A.N.: Ok, little document editor is really starting to piss me off. First it would not allow me to insert my greater-than/less-than signs as parentheses (or any other symbol for that matter), then it would not input lists correctly, now it will not display tabs or extra spaces/lines even if I go into the source editor. So for the heart discussion sequences, they will alternate on paragraphs between the character, then the heart. Again, this is one of those things where I say, "Read the fucking draft edits." At least those are formatted correctly.**

**Well, It's finally here, after how long? Jesus, it sure has been a while. I'm sorry it took me so long. I ended up rewriting this whole chapter cause the first draft did not feel right. I debated making it a lemon, but decided against it. Sorry about that, but fan service will come later, lol. Instead, I decided to take a page out of Anno's book and make the scenes very introspective. I even synced the heart discussion scenes to music. Shinji's is synced to _Shiro Sagisu - Kanon D-dur (Quartet)_ from _Evangelion - Death Soundtrack_ (4:59); Asuka's is synced to _Shiro Sagisu - Jesus bleibet meine Freude_ from _Evangelion - S2 Works Disc 7 (3:47)_. Read these passages aloud to the songs to get the effect.**

**CrazyKidDeath - lol, thanks man. i did try to make him a bit more evil and machiavellian than usual. as for where im going with it, you will just have to keep reading. to be honest, im doing this kinda like anno did; im making it up as i go on now that my posts have finally caught up with me.**

**Next Time: The boy and girl have made up against their own beliefs. The new days of the children will be filled with sorrow and joy. Meanwhile, Gendo must deal with a new development for NERV. Soon on NGE:InEVA - Move Forward. **


	12. Move Forward

**A.N.: I own my computer and my mind, not Eva. **

Chapter 11 – Move Forward

"Thank you for doing this, I know how much you wanted to retire…. No the children have already covered that information…. Really? I would not have thought so… even with all that has happened…. …That's good, I suppose. We sure could use the boost, but don't you think it seems a bit late? …I suppose not. Did you receive the e-mail I sent you? …No? Ok, it's not in the same location as before… because of last week's incident, the building was demolished… yes… there were only minor injuries, nothing serious… but with that event, many decided it to leave. So they combined… yep, you guessed it…. I know, it's like they won't have enough problems as it is but…. Ok. Again, I thank you Mr. Kusanagi. Tell Ritsuko that I said hello, and tell her I told her she needs to stop working so hard; she does enough for the children already…. Bye sir."

Major Misato Katsuragi placed the handset back down on the receiver on her desk. Above her, hung a poster of her Peugeot, only this one was colored blue. To her right, a breeze blew through her open window. The chirping cicadas signaled that the start of summer was just a few weeks away. It was a beautiful Sunday after with clouds covering the horizon far off in the west.

She leaned back into her chair and thought about her two children out on the town. It seemed that Shinji and Asuka had made up Friday night. When she returned from her NERV duties Saturday morning, she discovered them asleep on the living room floor. She had to rise them later that morning to get ready for the ceremony.

* * *

**Saturday**

A cold wind blew. He stared at the black obelisk with despair. Engraved on the waist high monolith were words that took his heart away.

Ikari Yui

碇ユイ

Mother, wife, scientist, and child of God

1977-2015

She was gone; gone from his life.

He looked at the preacher behind the headstone who spoke from a black book. Shinji's ears could not hear the preacher's words. For some reason, the only sounds he could hear were of his body; his heart and his breath.

He looked to the right of the headstone and saw another one just like it; for Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin. Asuka stood next to him on his right with an expression and attitude that mirrored his own. He knew that behind him stood his and Asuka's friends along with some of the NERV staff of people he did not know. The only person not to show was his father, Gendo Ikari.

* * *

The preacher finished his sermon and blessed the graves. Around him, people began to turn their backs and walk away. He remained. He was in his own world still trying to deny that she was gone. The obelisk was all that he had left of her. Minutes ticked away and the sun lowered on the horizon. He forgot how long he had stood there.

A shadow overcame him and drew onto the headstone. He did not have to turn to see who it was.

"Still here I see," a cold voice remarked.

He clenched his fists and bit his lip. It was all he could do to keep from lashing out at the man behind him.

"You should move on; it will do you no good to dwell on the past," the voice repeated.

"How could you, father," Shinji spat. Blood trickled down from his lip where his teeth bit into it.

"She made her own choices, and we must live with them."

"You didn't even…."

"Wrong, Shinji," Ikari cut him off. "I loved her dearly. She took her own risks."

"Risks you set up for her?!"

"That may be so," the commander sighed, "but irrelevant now."

"You didn't even show yourself today," the boy replied.

"Would your attitude towards me be any different than what it is now even if I had shown up?"

He relaxed his fists and hesitantly answered, "No."

"I thought as much the same."

The boy knelt down in front of the headstone and stroked the letters engraved on the black marble surface. "If I shouldn't dwell on the past, then why are you here? Why do you dwell on the past?"

"I'm not," the man replied. "I'm here to see the future." He held his right hand in front of him and looked with envy upon it. "I should inform you, nothing lies beneath the surface upon which you kneel."

Shinji closed his eyes and sighed. He stood up, turned around, and replied, "I know." He walked off towards the setting sun.

The commander remained at the headstone.

"I've done it, Yui." He removed the glove covering his right hand and his smile widened even more. "At this dusk, we let a new era dawn." He knelt down in front of the headstone and stroked the black marble, just as Shinji had done, with his bare hand. "I'll show you our future."

* * *

He swiped the card through the slot on the door jam and the door slid open with a hiss.

"I'm home," he sighed.

"Oh, Shinji, your back," Misato greeted. "Well um, I was wondering… maybe if it's not too much…."

"Oh, don't worry about it Misato," he lightened up. "I said I would cook, so just give me a few minutes to prepare somethings."

"Ok, thanks," Misato breathed a sigh of relief. "I think Asuka would kill me if I cooked Ramen again."

Move forward.

He chuckled. "Yeah."

He made his way into the kitchen and began to raid the refrigerator looking for ingredients. Misato reach over his crouched body and quickly extracted another Yebissu from the door.

"I'll uh… just take this… yeah."

He grumbled. "It looks and smells like you've had enough, don't you think?"

"Wha…!" she exclaimed. "Oh no… I know my limit."

"Just how much have you had so far?" he turned to face her, his arms laden with ingredients.

"Uh…," she moved to the side to hide the dining table from his view. "Ju… just a few… he he… yeah."

"How much??" he interrogated as he set down the ingredients on the counter next to the stove.

"Only like… two…."

"Yeah right," he sighed.

"… Plus or minus… like ten…."

He crushed the egg he was holding in his hand that was ready to crack into the pan. Spilled white, yolk, and shell fell into the pan and coated his hand in the slippery substance. His head creaked slowly and staccato like to turn and face her with disbelief plastered on his visage. "Te… ten…? Tw… twelve?"

Her fingers snapped the can lid open. "What…. It's not like I uh… don't uh… know my limit you know…." She drained the can in a single swig and let out a tremendous belch. "WOOOO Weee!!! What better way to celebrates teh dead thaaan to dreenk in their honor!!! At least that's's what the Irish say!" she winked.

"Misato… we're Japanese, not Irish."

"Right! Where's the sake?!" she strode away while Shinji rinsed his hands under the faucet.

He sighed, "What a slob…."

"Hmmm…. Takes one to know one, eh?" she giggled, walked to the couch, and flicked the television on.

"Just don't go blaming me for your hangover tomorrow morning," he sighed and removed another egg from the refrigerator.

Asuka walked out from her room dressed more causally then she was that afternoon. "Oh, Shinji, your home."

"Yeah, dinner should be ready in a few minutes," he called out to her. "And please do something about Misato's drinking habits!"

Asuka scoffed. "Now there's a lost cause."

"Hey you guys… don't make fun of me cause I drink till I drop… cause… um… I don't drop all the time…. What are you talking about…?" she whined from the couch.

The kids looked at each other, suppressing giggles. "Nothing," they said in unison.

"Oh hey! They are showing _You Are Not Alone_ at the Cinecitta tomorrow as part of their reopening ceremony. You two should go see it," the older woman winked. "You make such a kute kouple."

"Uh…," they both stammered and blushed.

Asuka spoke up, "I think Hikari would like to come too."

Shinji's heart sank a few inches.

Oh well, he thought. If that's the way she wants it, might as well go with it.

"You know," he spoke up, "if Hikari's going, she'll drag Toji along now that he's feeling better."

Asuka pondered for a second. "Yeah, and Kensuke won't want to be left out if you and Toji are going."

"I guess Ayanami should come too, if she's feeling up to it," he sighed slightly. "So, the six of us then?"

"Shesh gonna be in that sling and bandages for awhile now. Hey," Misato piped up. "If all six of you's is goings, then you should call the new kiddo too. He might likes a chances to gets to knows you. And besides, they says seven is a lucky number."

"Uh…," Asuka stammered. "Homo-boy?"

Misato threw Asuka a look of distain. "You don't know if he's gay or not." She started to giggle again. "Maybe Shin-chan can find out."

"Oh fuck off Misato!" he shouted.

Asuka sighed. "Well, I suppose he _can_ come. But we don't have his phone number, so there, he won't be interested. Ha!"

"Waits a minuutees," Misato said as she struggled to rise from the couch. "Me thinks I wrote down his number down from Friday." She stumbled to her room down the hall."

"No, wait Misato…," Asuka trailed off as the slamming of the divider came from the hall.

"Grrr…," the red-head growled. "Now look what you've done!"

"What??" Shinji stammered. "I didn't do anything."

"You gave her the idea of bringing him along!"

"How?" he tried to defend himself. "All I did was mention that if Hikari were to come, Toji would come too."

I was testing you, flachwichser, she thought. Maybe if you figured it out, but then again, your too much of an idiot to even figure out even after I said 'Kensuke won't want to be left out.'

"Ugh… baka."

The divider at the end of the hall opened and Misato stumbled out back to the living room and resumed her place at the couch.

"Uh, Misato?" Shinji inquired.

"Wha??" she stammered. "Oh… yeah, I called him for you."

"WHAT!?!?" Asuka shouted.

"Yeah," Misato smiled. "He sounded really happy about it too. So he'll meets you all there at noon tomorrow."

Asuka stormed off down the hall swearing loudly in German.

"Um, dinner's ready," Shinji called.

"Yay!" Asuka and Misato jumped in unison. "Let's eat" ('eats,' says Misato).

* * *

**Sunday**

"Hey Asuka," Shinji inquired, "do you think you can cheer up a bit for this? I… uh… want us all to have a good time."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied nonchalantly. "Whatever."

Shinji, Asuka, Hikari, Toji, Rei, and Kensuke all stood in the train car as it sped towards the downtown district. Kaworu, who lived downtown, would meet them at the Cinecitta. They watched as buildings flashed past them. Large cranes stood erected against the skyline as they lifted heavy steel support beams to the tops of the skyscrapers.

"It sure is amazing that they have completed this much reconstruction in only a day and a half," Hikari mentioned as she stared out the window.

"Well yeah," Kensuke answered. "My dad's on the planning committee and he said that the construction industry here in Tokyo-3 is one of the largest." He clicked his Nikon at some of the passing scenes. "He said that some other committee ordered it so, though he didn't say why. My guess is that it might have something to do with what happened on Friday."

"Jeez, Kensuke," Toji sighed. "Why is it that you always seem to know too much, yet you make so many speculations?"

"Well," he replied hesitantly. "I have… my reasons."

"Those wouldn't include hacking or spying now would they," Asuka interrogated.

"What?" he panicked. "No… not at all."

She regarded him with slight distain.

"So," Toji interrupted before another fight started. "This new kid, he's the one who has a thing for Shinji, right?"

"Toji?" Shinji shot.

"Ha," he laughed, "I'm just messing with you man." He jabbed Shinji in the ribs. "My little way of saying thanks for saving the person dear to me."

Hikari blushed and turned to squeeze Toji's arm.

"So you confessed yourself to him?" Rei asked having been silent throughout the beginning of the ride.

Asuka spoke up when Hikari hesitated to answer. "Well duh she did. Otherwise she wouldn't be all over him like that."

"I'm sorry," Rei replied.

A female voice sounded from the loudspeaker in the car of the train. "Next stop, Downtown Tokyo-3 Sector 4-3. All passenger's wishing to disembark must exit on the right hand doors. Please remain steady as the train decelerates. Thank you. Next stop…."

Kensuke stowed his Nikon and swung the pack over his left shoulder. "Come guys, this is our stop."

"Right," everyone replied in unison.

* * *

Total darkness enveloped him. His patience was growing thin. He remained seated at his desk for over ten minutes. Never in his life did he have to wait so long for a conference. He folded his white hands in front of his face. His thoughts wandered in the darkness. The other men could not possibly want something else from him.

"Commander Gendo Ikari," a cold, mechanical voice reverberated in the black.

Light, white light, shined upon his desk illuminating the pensive commander.

Light, red light, shined upon the desk opposite from the pensive commander. There sat an old man, his face obscured by a visor. "We apologize for the wait," he spoke mechanically again.

Light, many lights, shined upon the desks surrounding the pensive commander and the visored-man.

"Thank you for the apology, Kihle," Gendo replied. "May I inquire as to the reason behind my late arrival?"

"You may inquire," replied the man at the green desk, "but we don't have to answer you."

"I see."

"We brought you hear to discuss the events that occurred Friday, June 19, at 1245 hours JST," spoke the man at the yellow desk.

"I submitted my report to this committee that evening. Is there something else?"

"Yes," Kihle spoke. "Please enlighten us then, as to why you did not launch all three Evangelions."

"I thought it would have been clear," Ikari retorted. "Both our test pilots were killed at Matushirow. We only wanted to risk the life of one untrained pilot in the Eva."

"But you used your own son," snapped blue. "Did you not have a fully trained pilot at your disposal from previous experiments?"

"The First Child was injured and incapable of piloting."

"She wasn't dead yet," spat orange.

"Enough debate over the First," Kihle silenced them. "Why did you risk Unit-01, Ikari? The pilots are meaningless, that Evangelion is not."

"There was damage to Unit-02's Entry Plug that could not be repaired in the short time we had," Ikari lied to Kihle's face. "The only alternative would be to use Unit-01."

"I don't care about Unit-02," Kihle shouted. "You could have placed any pilot in Unit-00."

"Yes," blue supported. "Unit-00 is replaceable. Just like the previous ones."

"That was out of the question." Ikari began to sweat. Despite the five men being only projections, he felt as if they could see right through his lies. "We have never tested a pilot swap. It would have taken too long to reconfigure Unit-00's RAM for Shinji."

Yellow sighed. "It appears that this could go on for a while now. Shall we move on?"

"Agreed."

Kihle grumbled. "I don't know whether we should continue with this course of action."

"Sir," spoke blue. "We spent the past ten minutes debating this already. The majority rule it to be so."

"Very well," Kihle sighed. "The First Branch in Boston has completed the construction for Unit-03. They claim it is ready for deployment. All they need is a pilot."

Ikari's eyes thinned as Kihle told him this. "And is Boston configured structurally?"

Silence.

"We know what it is that you hide in the bowels of your Headquarters, Ikari," claimed orange. "We know that is what they are after."

Ikari's right hand flinched. "What do you mean?" He willed his body to not sweat or show any visible sign of anxiety.

"We have prophesized it," Kihle stated. "The union of an Angel with that beast you hide will bring about our total destruction; and that is what they wish to do."

"What do you mean?" he asked. The commander became curious as to how this man knew so much about the Angel's and the rest did not.

"That is one of but many Angels that you encountered on the 19th," Kihle continued. "We don't yet know how many there are, but we know that was not the first, second, or third."

"You mean they have come before?"

"Yes. Long ago, the first two appeared for us. You may know them as Adam and Lilith. But, they became trapped within their souls and have since remained dormant. The third appeared only in the recent years."

"Where is the third?" Gendo asked. If there was another living Angel, he would have to destroy it before it could get to NERV.

"We don't know, all we know is that it is here."

"Kihle," Ikari accused, "why do I get the feeling that you are withholding information from me. If there is another living Angel, we must defeat it."

"You are correct, commander. And if I did know, then I would have told you."

"So the beast we killed on Friday was the fourth?"

"Correct," blue supported.

Kihle continued. "This means, that with the third in hiding and the threat of the fifth, we are deciding to increase the complement of Evangelions in Tokyo-3. We are sending you Unit-03 at the next possible flight. You are responsible for finding a pilot."

"And it may be whomever I see fit?"

"No," orange snapped. "You must have your choice approved by another and submit a detailed analysis of the pilot to us that includes your reasons."

"While we trust your decisions," green continued. "If we find that the candidate is unsuitable for piloting, you will be forced to choose another."

"I see," the commander spoke.

"Do not fail us, commander," Kihle concluded.

Total darkness enveloped him. Soon it faded and his grand office materialized around him. He looked up to the gold etching of the Tree of Sephiroth on the ceiling.

"Man, with his incredible knowledge, ate from Tree of Wisdom. Yet what we strive for is eternal life. Could God have given those creatures fruit from the Tree of Life?"

He pulled open a drawer on his right and lifted the receiver of the phone to his ear. "Have Dr. Akagi meet me in the Pribnow Box in thirty minutes…. I don't care if she went home or not, she is to be there in thirty minutes!"

* * *

Why here of all places, she thought.

"You wished to speak with me?" she began. "Maya said it sounded important."

The commander stood at the front of the control room. A wall of glass separated him from the enormous water filled tank on the other side. Inside the tank, three heavily modified Evangelions stood latched onto the wall. Cables snaked from their necks and from their abdomens. The thick cables ran to the supplemental Magi Computer System contained inside the box.

"Yes," Ikari spoke. "What I need to discuss with you is a matter of utmost importance and security. That is why I had you meet me here."

"Hmm," she smirked. "This room is totally isolated and cut off from the rest of the world."

"Yes," he continued. "I just got done with a meeting with the committee. They have their suspicions about me, and I do for them. They know that we have either Adam or Lilith. They don't know though. I believe they assume it is Adam, because that is what they have been searching for. They don't care about Lilith."

"Where is Adam," Ritsuko inquired. "If the committee wants it, they will try to take Adam by force."

Ikari's smile widened as he stared into the tank. "They think that Lilith is Adam. But," he raised his right hand to the glass and caressed the pane. "Adam is safe, for now."

He turned and faced her. "However, they see it fit to send us one more Eva."

"What?" Ritsuko exclaimed. "But we don't have any pilots for it!"

"We must find one."

"Don't you think that we should find some others to replace Shinji and Asuka first?"

"Negative," he snapped. "It seems that Unit-01 has taken a liking to Shinji. After all, a forty percent Sync-Ratio without a RAM dump and no training is a wonderful feat."

Ritsuko's eyes dropped to the floor. "But he's just a kid…."

"Don't deny it, Dr.," the commander continued. "The Evangelion appear to have a liking to children."

"So," disgust began to build in her voice as she squinted back tears. "You mean to sacrifice our children to satisfy the committee's agenda? Or your own?"

"Our own, Ritsu. These children will fight for mankind's survival."

"Is that SEELE talking, or you?" she spat.

"Both, right now."

She relaxed slightly. "I see. What is it that we must do?"

"First, we should classify Asuka and Shinji as the Second and Third Children respectively. Then we must find a suitable candidate for Unit-03, the Fourth Child."

* * *

"Well, that was a highly enjoyable flick," Kaworu stated as the children exited the theater.

"Ha," Asuka laughed. "You would enjoy. All those pretty boys running around naked. I knew you were sly."

"Asuka," Kensuke began. "Why are you such a homophobe?"

"I'm not," she snapped.

Kaworu sighed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't keep calling me gay. Why should one's sexual orientation concern you?"

"I… uh…," Asuka stammered. "Umm…. Well hey now, isn't someone going to support me here?" she looked at the rest of group who turned their shoulders. "Ugh…."

"I liked how the film emphasized the drawbacks of continuation schools," Kaworu continued. "Those boys were isolated from society and could only turn towards each other. Even though society deemed it wrong for same-sex couples, it's as Bo said, 'Is it so wrong if you are with a boy or a girl?' It should be with whoever makes you happy."

"I'm with you on that one there," Toji agreed.

Asuka picked up a conversation with Rei as she fell behind the rest of the group. "Did it seem like there was a lack of female characters in the film?"

"Yes," Rei answered quietly. "You are right."

"Huh? You don't seem like yourself, wondergirl," Asuka noted. "Something wrong?"

Rei thought back to what happened in the commander's office on Friday.

The person that resides in this body is I!

"Soryu," she started. "Asuka, you are not repulsed by me? By how unhuman I am?"

"Hey, you may be in bandages from getting knocked out on Friday," Asuka replied. "But I wouldn't say you are unhuman. I mean, you still bleed red, right? Now if your blood was orange or something, then I'd be worried." Asuka laughed slightly to relieve Rei's mood.

Rei chuckled slightly in return and spoke, "I suppose you are right."

"What are you two talking about?" Shinji joined them and the trio brought up the rear on their way to the station along the river.

"Ikari," Rei began. "Do you remember your mother?"

"Eh…," he replied nervously. "Yeah of course. But could we not talk about that really?"

Rei shuttered slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just… I have no memory of a mother."

You did not have a childhood, a mother, or a father.

"I'm glad you asked me to come today," she continued. "And thanks again for buying my ticket."

"Alright you two," Asuka interjected hotly. "But could we not talk about that really?" She folded her arms defiantly.

Shinji and Rei chuckled to themselves.

"Yo, you three back there!" Kensuke shouted.

"What, four-eyes?!" Asuka retorted.

"Jesus, woman, who pissed in your Cheerios," Toji shot at her.

"Group photo," Kensuke continued. "Come on, the lighting is perfect, and I can get Mount Futago in the background."

"Ok!"

"Aida," Rei walked up to Kensuke and held out her right hand. "Show me, how and I'll take the picture for you."

"Um, I was just gonna use the timer switch so we can all be in it."

"But I am damaged."

"Uh… no not really," he reassured her. "Let's just see here."

He reached up and lifted the bandage covering her right eye. A long scar ran down her face under her eye. He removed the rest of the gauze from her head. She squinted from the sudden brightness. Though she now had depth perception, her vision was blurred from the lack of use over the weekend.

"Your just fine," Kensuke stated with a smile. "Now go join the rest of the group while I set up the tripod."

From his bag, he extracted a collapsible plastic tripod and expanded it to five feet. The quick base on the bottom of the Nikon snapped to the foot of the tripod. He manipulated the dials and lens as he composed the shot. A narrow aperture and a normal shutter gave him a balanced color.

"Alright you six, settle down and put the snacks away." Kensuke watch through the viewfinder as Asuka munched on Pretch and Toji shoved balls of cookie dough into his big mouth. He smiled and chomped down hard on his gum as he depressed the timer. "Aright ten seconds."

He ran to the back of the group. He saw Asuka and Hikari whispering to each other. "Hey you two…."

"Yeah we know," they laughed.

He sighed and began to blow a large bubble.

"…three…," Asuka whispered. "…two… NOW!" The two girls jumped forward into a pose and knocked Shinji to the left as the shutter clicked.

"Hey," Kensuke shouted as he spat his gum out. "I wasn't ready, you two made me lose track of time."

The girls could not stop laughing. Soon Toji and Shinji joined in. Rei and Kaworu simply looked at each other and shrugged.

"Oh come on, Kensuke," Toji wrapped and arm around the boy's neck. "That was a good shot of us. Make sure you make duplicates."

Shinji checked his watch. "Oh crap, we're gonna miss the train! Let's move!"

"Right!" they shouted in unison and took off speeding for the station.

* * *

**A.N.: Well again, I'm sorry for the late posts. I have been neglecting my homework so I could write this, so I had to catch up some how. For some reason though, I am posting this a day early? Why? I don't know. I just got done editing it so don't complain about any grammar errors, I tried to catch most of them by reading aloud (misato's lines are not misspelled, she is drunk as a monkey). I'm just glad that I have written the end of what I guess you can consider as Part 1. Now I can let my mind wander and write the story around two new characters. That's right; I said "two new characters". I'm still debating on what part I want each of them to play at the end because they both could do it; it's just the meaning behind the ending will be different. But the next chapter will start the main arc.**

**_Disclaimer + Rebuild Spoiler_: **I don't care if you have seen Rebuild, but Kaworu IS NOT the third Angel in MY story. I didn't know he was the third in Rebuild until I actually watched each frame (yes i said each _fuckin_ frame) of the rebuild trailers and inferred from the changed numbers when Shinji fights Sachiel (4th), Shamshel (5th), and Ramiel (6th). This has been confirmed on Right now, Kaworu is no different than the rest of the children.

**CrazyKidDeath - yep, that was the effect i was going for. and btw, i will try not to put translations up for spoken lines from now on. i believe it adds an effect when you have an idea of what they are saying, but are not sure.**

**RahXephon - i'll be getting back to you later...**

**Next Time: The pawns are set. With the start of a new week, a new student enters class 2-A despite only having two weeks of school left before Summer Break. But when and where will the Angel appear? Soon on _NGE: InEVA_ - The Third, Fourth, and Fifth.**


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